Antumbra
by WobblyBobcat
Summary: Post-Rise of Darkrai, Alice and Darkrai. Friendship is harder when you've chosen to befriend a monster.
1. Chapter 1

_Antumbra: a phenomenon seen when the moon appears to almost entirely swallow the sun in an eclipse, leaving only a thin thread of light encircling the dark void. This is my first story on this website. Forgive my inexperience, and please tell me if there is anything that needs changing._

_This tale begins roughly a week after the events in Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai, and follows Alice and Darkrai through the difficult times that follow._

_True fact: Every single time I tried to write 'legendary beasts' in this chapter, I ended up misspelling it as 'legendary beats.' The movie would have been far more entertaining, I think, if Palkia and Dialga nearly destroyed the town in the passion of their furious rap contest._

_With that imagery in your head, enjoy the story._

* * *

><p>Alice walked through the garden, watching the Pokémon at the waterfront laughing and splashing in the pond as she crossed the path towards the forest. A family of Marill and Azumarill arced through the water between the delicate pillars that held up a gazebo stretching across the pond, and a recently-evolved Quagsire she'd nicknamed Blooper splashed his tail and let out a friendly croak at her as she passed. She smiled and raised a hand in return as she walked past.<p>

It was a warm, quiet afternoon, a rare day off in between her studies and the now-popular balloon tours that took up most of her time now. She'd become somewhat of a celebrity after the near-destruction of Alamos town, and after the spectacle at the clock tower, it suddenly drew ten times more visitors and sightseers, all clamoring for an airborne panoramic tour of the massive building. Luckily, though, the townspeople still showed little interest in Godey's garden. It was relatively boring to them. To her, it was her very own private, peaceful pocket of refuge in the bustling town, where she knew she could get a breath of fresh air and some solitude.

But today, she had a mission in the forgotten area. Namely, the Pokémon that had been at the start—and the end of—the disaster that struck the town just a short week ago. Darkrai.

She'd been blown away with surprise when she learned that the mythical Pokémon had apparently been living in this garden—_her_ garden—since before she had even been born. She had never even heard the name, much less caught a glimpse of him. And yet, the instant the town was threatened, there he was, lending all his strength to help them (though not without horrible misunderstandings first).

Every time she visited this garden, familiar Pokémon faces smiled back at her. She could recognize almost all of the huge garden's residents. A pang of guilt went through her. She'd once proudly claimed that all the Pokémon in the garden were her friends. But apparently, she'd missed one. And he ended up saving her life. The very least she could do was repay him. She wasn't quite sure how she was going to go about that, but tracking him down seemed like the logical first step.

Only, she had no idea where to start. She'd kept a close eye out in the garden as she walked, but everything looked as usual; no wayward shadows, no sudden whooshes of cold wind. She'd even called out his name a few times, to be rewarded with silence and the sinking feeling that she looked like an idiot, shouting to thin air. She'd wandered these grounds since she was a child, and still, she had no clues that could point to where the shadowy Pokémon dwelled.

Was he truly all right, after being battered to the brink of death by those two legendary beasts? If he was, why hadn't he reappeared since then? Was he simply going to slip back into the metaphorical (and literal) shadows after all he'd just done for them? Had... had their sight of him standing tall on the clock tower that sunset been real?

A familiar voice brought her attention across the courtyard. "Gallade!" she said, recognizing the face of the green-and-white Pokémon waving at her. Gallade grinned and bounded across the stone walkway towards her. A dainty, unfamiliar Kirlia trailed behind him. She took her friend's outstretched hand. "You look well. And who is this?" Alice asked, looking at his companion. "Don't tell me you have a girlfriend!" The Kirlia blushed and ducked behind Gallade. "Oh, get out of here... when did this happen? I thought you were the proud bachelor!" Gallade gave a bashful grin and shrugged, stepping back and putting an arm around Kirlia. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Kirlia. I hope you can keep Gallade out of trouble for me." She bowed politely. The Kirlia peeked out from behind Gallade long enough to flash a shy smile.

"Gallade, I actually have a favor to ask you." Alice said, getting down to business. Gallade frowned and cocked his head curiously, sensing her change in mood. "Do you know where I can find the Pokémon Darkrai?"

At the sound of the Pokémon's name, the Kirlia gave a soft cry of alarm and shrank back. Gallade shifted backwards as well, surprise and worry on his face. Alice frowned at their dramatic reactions. Darkrai had supposedly been living in this garden for generations, and was apparently low-key enough that she'd never even known he was there. What could possibly be so frightening about that?

Gallade was looking at her now with a mixture of concern and alarm. He spoke a few words in his staccato language, worry obvious in his voice, shaking his head. He didn't seem to want her to go.

"It's all right, Gallade. He knows me. I just want to speak with him for a little while." Alice said soothingly. "Can you show me where he is? Or at least point me in the right direction?"

A deep frown still creased Gallade's face as he eyed Alice. He turned to the Kirlia, and spoke a few words in a low voice, bumping his forehead against hers in an affectionate gesture. She chirruped an anxious reply, and let go of his arm. When Alice was done, she was going to have to tease Gallade about how adorable he looked with his new sweetheart. But not now; he seemed too upset. Gallade looked back at Alice, and motioned for her to follow him. They set off together, the Kirlia staying behind in the courtyard.

The splashing and laughter by the water's edge faded as Alice followed Gallade down a twisted garden path. He hopped effortlessly through the trees, keeping silent. She'd known Gallade since he was a Ralts, and she'd almost never seen him look this serious. She wondered if he had fought with Darkrai before. He had a vain tendency to get into tussles with other Pokémon in the garden over the most trivial affronts to his dignity, whether real or imagined. But if he'd tried to pick a fight with Darkrai, it was no wonder he was frightened of the Pokémon. Alice had a feeling that even his formidable blades were no match for those pitch-black, frighteningly strong attacks she had seen Darkrai unleash.

They were traveling deep into the center of the garden; Alice rarely came to this area. Then Gallade took a right, and they were standing at the entrance to the deep forest.

Nobody came this way, not anymore. Few people even remembered it existed, tucked deep in a corner of the garden. In the past, the forest path could have been a meticulously groomed walkway, showcasing exotic plants on either side between the well-trimmed trees. But over the years, it was forgotten, glossed over in favor of the more modern parks and tourist areas, and nature reclaimed it. Well, devoured it, more like. The path was uneven, and weeds overran the barely-visible outlines of what had once been neatly-divided squares of garden soil on either side. Even in the bright afternoon light, the path was dim, steeped in darkness.

Alice had only rarely ventured down this particular path. None of the Pokémon she knew frequented this place. She remembered, years ago, she had gotten an inexplicable urge to explore the area and had ventured inside once or twice, but had quickly given up. She hadn't been able to place what exactly bothered her about the forest, but there was an uneasy feel to the air that had made her skin crawl and sent her scurrying back outside, into the sunlight and warmth.

Apparently, this was where Darkrai made his home.

Gallade dropped from the trees and landed beside her, glancing about before stepping into the dim shadows of the forest. Alice followed, keeping close beside him. As they ventured inside, the cheery ambient noises of the garden were muffled by the trees, as if the forest were swallowing up the lighthearted sounds. Branches arched overhead, and thin, frail threads of sunlight struggled to pierce the dense shadows.

_Shadows_...

She remembered the events that had ravaged the town just a few short weeks ago. The distortion of the garden; so unnatural and frightening at the time, but nothing but a harmless prelude compared to what came afterwards. The thrill that ran through her body as that Pokémon of darkness had materialized before them, warning them away. Fear, confusion, and... the dim warmth of recognition, as its piercing blue eyes locked onto her. She would never forget those eyes for as long as she lived. The terror, as the town was torn apart by the legendary beasts. And yet, at every turn, he was there... a supposedly evil creature, deflecting the attacks that would have seared the flesh from their bones, drawing the legendary Pokémon to attack him instead of the town... and even when he had exhausted his strength and could barely get up, he still fought, throwing his body against the onslaught in a last-ditch effort to protect them.

As they'd fought to resurrect Oración and stop the warring legendaries, she had slowly remembered who he was. Meeting him, all those years ago, in the garden... the sensation of falling stopped by gentle, strong arms. More than that, his presence; she could recall many times now, feeling eyes on her in the garden and not knowing who was there. Now she knew. He remembered too, she was sure. She saw it in the way he glanced back after stopping an attack, sweeping his gaze over the townspeople, stopping to rest upon her for a fraction of a second that stretched on forever. The way he hovered in front of her, fierce and unyielding, putting his body between her and the danger.

His efforts, his near-death (or had he really died, in those horrible moments before the town was restored?) hadn't just been to protect the town. They had been for her.

They were deep in the forest, now. She noticed that the usual background noises that should have been commonplace in the forest—the rustle of Pokémon foraging in the grass, birdsong from the trees—were eerily absent. It was as if everything living had forsaken the area.

Suddenly, Gallade stopped. Alice paused, and looked at the path ahead. She couldn't see anything out of place, just the worn dirt path, being slowly swallowed by weeds and brush. No, it wasn't something visible; it was a _feeling_, a stomach-turning promise of horrific consequences should they take a single step further. The invisible miasma of malice hung rank in the air just ahead of them. The sensation was so strong, it might as well have been a barbed-wire fence strung across their path.

She recognized the sensation almost immediately. It was the same threatening aura she had felt rolling off Darkrai in waves when he'd first appeared before her and the others, trying—though they didn't know it at the time—to ward off the legendary beasts from the town. It had been so overwhelming; it was no wonder that the trainers had attacked Darkrai almost out of instinct. But knowing the source of the sensation didn't make it any less terrifying. She swallowed despite herself and looked at Gallade, hoping for some kind of guidance. "He... he's down the path?" she asked, feeling slightly shaky.

Gallade nodded and pointed further on, saying something solemn to her. He didn't look like he was about to accompany her down this stretch of the journey, years-long friendship or not. Alice didn't blame him.

"Thank you, Gallade." She took his hands. "You're a great help." She looked down at the path. It somehow seemed ten times as dark as the rest of the forest. "I don't want to keep you any longer. Your _girlfriend_ might get worried, after all." She forced a joking grin on her face, and Gallade gave a half smile and touched her hands to his forehead in one of his typical chivalrous gestures. She pulled back, and turned back towards the path. "I'll talk to you later, then."

And gritting her teeth, she steeled herself and stepped through the fog of menace. A pang of sudden fear shot through her, seemingly out of nowhere, but she forced herself to ignore it. She had helped Darkrai, and he'd protected her. He wouldn't hurt her... right? She pushed onward, only allowing herself a small peek back before she rounded the corner of the path. Gallade still stood there, at the border to the dark space, watching her with worry.

Alice forged onwards, deeper in. The sensation of fear and anxiety was lessening as she moved further inside. It was just a forest, after all. Just trees and grass. And one fearsome nightmare Pokémon, but she was on good terms with him. Or so she assumed. She lifted her head and scanned her dim surroundings. Nothing stirred. There were only shadows, and the occasional faint bar of sunlight seeping sluggishly between the branches.

She opened her mouth. "Darkrai!" she called. She quickly shut her mouth again. Her voice sounded too loud, out of place in this subdued area, like a raucous kid in a graveyard. The forest was still and silent around her. She glanced about. Nothing.

She tried again. "Darkrai, are you here?" No answer. She was starting to feel silly. He might not even be here. She was just shouting to the trees like a crazy person. But then she heard a faint noise, like a breath of wind over the branches behind her, and she turned to see a faintly luminescent, piercing blue eye gazing at her from the shadowed base of a tree.

A smile broke over her face, and she felt a rush of relief flow through her body. It was him, just as she remembered. "Darkrai..." she said, "You're here..." She walked off the path into the brush, anxiety forgotten. The Pokémon materialized from the darkness as she approached, putting one clawed hand on the tree bark and pushing himself up, the rest of his body seeming to flow from the shadows around him until he was fully visible, floating in midair like a wisp of smoke given form.

She stopped a few feet away from him. He hovered in place, regarding her with a cautious look. There was no wind in the air, but the wispy hair on his head and the tatters of his black cloak still billowed behind him as if carried by an invisible breeze.

_**Alice. **_His voice—was it really a voice, or more of a thought?—reverberated around her, imposing despite its neutral tone.

"Yeah, it's me again." she said, suddenly at a loss of what to say. She paused, but he didn't say anything further. He seemed to be waiting for her to do something. Which made sense, since she had been the one to seek him out. But for some reason, her previous confidence had vanished and she was suddenly tripping all over her own tongue.

"I..." she fumbled, "I wanted to make sure you were all right. I mean, you seemed all right after the town came back, but..." she trailed off, fidgeting with the hem of her skirt. How was she supposed to put it into words? _That sick feeling, as I saw your battered body lying motionless in the shallow water, too weak even to lift your head above the surface... as I fought down the urge to scream, "Why would you do this for us?"_

Darkrai raised his arms slightly and looked himself up and down, as if to say, _hmm... yes, all body parts accounted for._ Alice let out a choked laugh. "I'm... just glad you're okay." He was all right. He wasn't dead, or dying. The horror of a week ago was just a memory. She had no idea why she'd gotten so attached to the Pokémon after such a short time of knowing him. Bonding through trauma, maybe. She just couldn't stop remembering the way her heart seemed to shatter when she had watched him 'die.'

Darkrai's one visible eye flicked back to her face. He began to lift a hesitant hand toward her, then seemed to think better of it and let it drop to his side.

"Why didn't you come back!" she finally burst out. Tears pricked her eyes. "I thought you were dead! I was so worried about you!" She glared at Darkrai, torn between bursting into tears and punching the elusive Pokémon. She'd be damned if he tried to claim that showing a glimpse of himself from halfway across town counted as 'coming back.'

But he didn't reply. He just stared at her, a perplexed look on his face. "Don't give me that look!" she cried. "Friends are supposed to let each other know they're okay!"

Darkrai jerked back at her sharp words. His surprise startled her into silence. What had he...

His voice echoed through the trees again. _**Friends?**_

Her eyes widened. "I... oh." Then she mentally kicked herself. She didn't need to be apologetic for her words. "Yes. You've saved my life, several times." she said. "And you protected the town I love. Maybe I don't know you very well, but I consider you my friend."

Darkrai stared dazedly at her like a fish that had been tossed out of its pond. The smoky tatters of his 'robe' fluttered in an almost nervous way.

"What about you?" she asked, looking straight into his eyes. "Darkrai, will you be my friend?"

Darkrai didn't respond for a long time. Alice was beginning to wonder if his brain had locked up when he slowly, hesitantly raised one taloned hand and held it out to her, palm forward. She understood the gesture. Touch, the universal symbol of trust that spanned across all species, Pokémon or human. He stared unblinkingly into her eyes with a solemn gaze that was so intense, so searching it made her want to turn her face away.

But she didn't. She leaned forward, not breaking her gaze, and pressed her palm against his. Her entire outstretched hand barely spanned his huge palm. His skin felt like silk stretched over cool stone, and she felt a dim sense of déjà-vu as her fingertips brushed the living shadow.

Darkrai closed his eyes, bowed his head. Alice smiled.

"Thank you, friend."


	2. Chapter 2

"Tonio! Toniooo!" Alice called. She hopped in an awkward dance between piles of papers, slowly picking her way through his cluttered lab. Her childhood friend was nowhere to be seen. Alice's Chimchar perched on a shelf near the entrance. Both of them knew from experience that it was too hard for him to navigate Tonio's messy workspace without setting things on fire with his tail.

"TONIO!" Alice yelled. She _knew_ he was here, because he'd forgotten his keys in the door to his lab again. He was probably holed up in some side room, wearing headphones and staring glazed-eyed at one of his squiggly graphs. She'd barely been able to tear him away from the readings his machines had collected during Palkia and Dialga's battle, even with the promise of dates. The man was so inept with relationships... but that in itself was kind of adorable.

A sudden _crash_ rang through the air and a cloud of dust billowed from a room just ahead. "Tonio?" Alice called. She sidled her way around a pile of folders and peeked through the entrance. "Toni-_oh my God!_" She rushed to his side. He was sprawled on the ground beneath a tall set of shelves, an overturned swivel chair next to him, and _oh God what was that bloodred spatter all over him—_

He looked up at her and his face brightened. "Oh, hi, Alice!" he said cheerily, and wiped a fleck of red off his face.

Her heart nearly stopped then and there. "Tonio, are you okay? What happened! Oh God—" she reached forward to help him off the ground, but he raised his arm to stop her.

"Better watch out... this juice really stains!" he said. He looked down at his red-soaked outfit and frowned. "This was a new shirt, too... I knew I should have gone with water."

Chimchar rushed through the door and gave a questioning chirp at Alice. He must have heard her outburst. Now that her eyes weren't bugging out of her head in horror, Alice started to piece together what had happened.

"Chimchar, it's all right... Tonio, were you trying to get a file off the top shelf?" she asked.

"Yes. I haven't needed those files in a long time, but these anomalies are so unique that—"

"On a swivel chair?" she cut him off.

"I—I didn't have a stepstool in the room, so—"

"While juggling a glass of juice?"

"...I wasn't even thinking about the juice, honestly."

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She was getting the urge to punch people more and more often recently. Tonio could be so brilliant, yet so incredibly dimwitted at the same time. It was as if he'd taken everything in his 'common sense' bucket and used it to top off his 'math and sciences' container, then emptied the rest of it into the 'scare as many years off Alice's lifespan as possible by getting into fatal-looking yet harmless accidents' pail.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't get hurt." she said. She settled for punching him very gently, on his shoulder. "You're a dork, you know that?"

Tonio blushed at the friendly jab. "Well, you know, I wasn't quite sure, but I'm glad you're here to set the record straight." She smiled. "Hey... do you smell something burning?"

They looked up at the doorway, just as Chimchar gave a cry of alarm and jumped away from the pile of folders he'd been standing too close to.

* * *

><p>One fire extinguisher and a fresh set of clothes later, they were all sitting around the table in the main room of Tonio's lab. Chimchar quietly kept himself occupied on the non-flammable surface of a nearby metal counter, looking sheepish.<p>

"—and so, when I combined the new wavelengths I isolated, I was able to match the output on the town's clock variations to the equations I'd been developing!"

"I'm glad!" Alice said. "So, did you get word back from your contact at Devon?"

"Yes! Damian and I been sharing files with one another since this morning. This new data is really a huge breakthrough for everyone." Tonio replied. He was positively beaming. To be honest, Alice usually couldn't make heads or tails out of the technical jargon that Tonio spewed out. But she tried to understand what she could and show her support for his work in any way she knew how. She could tell her efforts meant a lot to him by the way his eyes lit up in delight whenever she brought up something he'd mentioned in his work. He'd told her many times how lonely he felt in his research. After all, he had no colleagues living in Alamos town to chat with, and most non-sciencey people immediately began to space out the second he started using words with more than three syllables in them.

In any case, she felt like she owed it to him to stay abreast of what he was doing and show some genuine interest in his passion, considering the number of important lab documents her Pokémon had accidentally incinerated over the years.

"But... I don't think you visited just to hear about gravitational time dilation theory." Tonio remarked with a wry grin.

Alice put her hands up in mock surrender. "You got me." she said. "Though I _am_ glad to hear that Damian got back to you. Devon's Dream Projector technology seems like an amazing project to help out with."

Tonio nodded, and she saw him drifting off once more into that half-distracted, swallowed-in-equation-land look that she knew so well. Whoops. "Yes, it really is... we've been discussing the impact that this will have on our temporal coordination systems, and..." he gave a start, seeming to realize he was going off on another tangent. "But anyway! What did you need?" he asked quickly.

Alice stifled a smile. "I was wondering if I could pick your brain regarding Darkrai." she said. "I don't know much about his species at all."

"Darkrai?" Tonio said. "Did you manage to find him?"

"Yes." Alice replied. "He's doing fine. He lives in a part of the garden that I never really visit, so it's no wonder I hadn't seen him before."

"Glad to hear he's all right." Tonio said. "That really was something, huh... hard to believe it was such a short time ago."

Alice nodded. Dialga and Palkia's visit was definitely something that would be talked about for years to come.

"Anyway, I don't know much about Darkrai, either; Pokémon studies aren't my field." Tonio admitted. "What kind of things did you want to know?"

"Well, what he eats might be a good place to start." Alice said. "I was visiting the market and saw berries on sale, and I thought, _I should bring some to Darkrai as a present._ He seems wary around me, so I want to get him used to my presence. But then I wondered, _does he even eat food_? I haven't ever seen his mouth; his face is always hidden behind that big red collar. And he's so incorporeal..."

She trailed off. Tonio put his chin in his hand.

"Well," he said. "I can't give you a conclusive answer, but... I _have_ read about a ghost-type Pokémon named Gengar... it can hide in shadows as well, and its main form of sustenance is life force and dream energy. However, it also enjoys eating berries and other foods. I'd hypothesize that if a Pokémon like Gengar can eat berries, then Darkrai should be able to as well."

Alice frowned, mulling it over. Tonio shrugged. "Even if he doesn't like what you bring, I think he'd appreciate the gesture."

He might appreciate the thought, or he might get offended at her lack of basic dietary knowledge. She'd known a strict vegan who would fly off the handle at the sight of cheese or eggs in a meal, even if the hapless host had honestly tried to prepare something they thought was vegetarian-friendly.

"Well..." she finally concluded. "I might as well try. I've never met a Pokémon that doesn't eat. Even your Drifblim likes to steal my lunch when I'm not looking, and I _know_ that thing doesn't have any normal mouth to speak of."

Tonio laughed. "If he gets upset, just tell him Alberto suggested it."

She groaned at the mention of her overzealous admirer. "Good idea."

"I'll ask my associates if they have any information on Darkrai. I know Devon has several Pokémon researchers at their facilities." Tonio offered.

"Oh, thank you, Tonio." Alice smiled. She leaned over and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek. Tonio promptly blushed a brilliant shade of red.

Ah, the shy ones were always the most endearing.

* * *

><p>"<em>Chiiiiii..."<em> Her Chimchar let out another thin whine, and small fingers tugged insistently on her pants leg. She had told her Pokémon about meeting Darkrai, and after a short period of surprise and wariness, her Chimchar had seemed eager to be introduced to him. Even though the nightmare Pokémon had scared the living daylights out of Chimchar when he'd first appeared, it was obvious that the fire monkey had quickly grown a deep admiration for the Pokémon that defended his master. He'd pantomimed the nightmare Pokémon's attacks for days afterwards, wafting smoky tail flames back and forth to mimic Darkrai's shadowy flowing cloak and chittering excitedly at Alice like a kid imitating his favorite superhero.

But now, at the edge of the deep forest, her fiery Pokémon was getting cold feet. He tugged at her clothes again and she looked down with a sigh.

"Chimchar, if you—"

"Chii!" Chimchar cut her off and pointed to the Shinx next to him. The young electric Pokémon was Chimchar's best friend. Shinx had met up with them when they entered the garden ten minutes ago, and seemed to have been telling ghost stories to Chimchar the entire time, because by the time they'd reached the entrance to the deep forest, Chimchar had gone from super-excited-best-trip-ever to this-is-a-horrible-idea-let's-go-home.

Shinx looked up to Alice with a piteous expression. His fur sparkled with nervous electricity. "Shii... shinshi..." the Pokémon began to act out an impressive imaginary scenario, puffing out his fur dramatically and making wild gestures. He seemed to be under the impression that Darkrai would eat them if they went into his territory. Alice was quickly realizing why she'd never heard a word about Darkrai before; all the garden Pokémon seemed to be so terrified of him that they got scared even bringing him up. Chimchar chirruped nervously, looking at his friend and then back at Alice as if he wasn't sure what to believe.

"Honey..." Alice addressed the young electric Pokémon, kneeling down to be more level with Shinx. "Have you ever met Darkrai?"

Shinx shook his head and shivered.

"Well, I have." Shinx's gold eyes widened. "Just a few days ago, in fact. He was very nice to me. He didn't try to eat me or anything."

Shinx frowned and let out a low noise. He didn't look convinced. Alice smiled and reached out to pat him on the head, then winced a second later at the static that snapped at her fingers. Ouch. She petted him anyway.

"Chimchar," she said, with an offhand air, "It's all right if you don't want to follow me. I understand if you're too scared."

At this accusation, Chimchar's mouth dropped open. He let out a soft screech of indignation at her preposterous claim. His tail flame puffed out and he bounded past her to the entrance of the forest, turning back to look at her with a look that said, _well, are you coming or not?_

Alice laughed. _When all else fails, appeal to their sense of pride_. Next to her, Shinx called out to his friend in concern.

Chimchar chattered back in reassuring tones as Alice walked into the forest with him. Alice was touched at how much her Pokémon trusted her judgment, and not just when it came to unfamiliar forests. He always listened to her, even when they were hundreds of meters in the sky in a hot air balloon, being buffeted wildly by air currents. She would often see confusion on his face when she instructed him to raise or lower the balloon in seemingly illogical ways, but he never questioned her, trusting her to bring them home safely.

They heard Shinx cry out behind them as the forest swallowed them up, but Chimchar didn't look back.

* * *

><p>By the time they reached their destination, Chimchar's bravado had evaporated. He clung to her arm, jumping at every snap of a twig. He gave a low growl of alarm as Alice walked through the invisible fog of malice that marked the edge of Darkrai's territory. It didn't scare her quite as much this time, but it still made her feel uncomfortable.<p>

She reached a hand up to stroke his fur. "Shhh... it's all right." she whispered. "Darkrai, are you here?"

The shadows ahead of them flickered in response, and the nightmare Pokémon materialized a few meters away. Alice smiled and opened her mouth to say hello, but before she could make a sound, Darkrai noticed Chimchar clinging to her arm and his eyes widened in alarm. Chimchar let out a screech of fear as Darkrai's cloak billowed out with a _whoosh_, making him look twice as big and ten times as intimidating. He stared at the intruding Pokémon in a blatant challenge, and Alice felt Chimchar's fingers tighten around her arm. There was no mistaking the aggression in that taut stance, that volcanic glare.

Alice suddenly felt weak-kneed. She hadn't even thought of how Darkrai might react to another Pokémon. She didn't want to be caught on the receiving end if he decided to attack.

She shifted, subtly turning her body to make a flimsy barrier between Darkrai and her Pokémon. "Darkrai... t-this is Chimchar." She struggled to keep her voice calm, soothing. "He's my very best friend. Do you remember him? He helps me with my hot air balloon."

No response. Darkrai's claws flexed slowly. She stammered on, fighting down panic. "He... he's been really excited to meet you! He admires you a lot..."

Chimchar nodded furiously, taking her cue. "C-chii!" he squeaked. "Chim, chim chee." She could feel him shiver.

Darkrai held his fierce glare on her Pokémon, but Alice saw the tension in his frame lessen almost imperceptively. Taking this as a positive sign, she forced herself to smile. "You don't have to worry. He doesn't want to hurt you." She held out her hand to Darkrai, palm out. _Trust me, please._

Darkrai stared at her outstretched hand for a long, agonizing moment. The invisible gale that was whipping his cloak into a terrifying frenzy slowly died down. He relaxed his tense stance, and reached toward her. She felt Chimchar flinch as he quickly ran his fingertips across her palm and shot her an accusing glare.

She let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding, and suddenly felt like sinking to the ground.

"Darkrai... I'm so sorry..." she said. "I didn't know you'd be upset..."

Darkrai's cold gaze flicked back to her, and then, in a harsh motion that belied more than a little irritation, he whipped around and vanished into the shadows. Alice's heart sank. Oh no. Had she blown it?

But no, there he was again, reappearing a little deeper in the forest. He looked at her impassively and made a beckoning gesture. She quickly hurried to follow him. He led her and Chimchar off the path, through a tangle of brush and undergrowth (was he deliberately choosing the most hard-to-navigate way, just to spite her for earlier?) Finally, Alice emerged in a small, green clearing. It was less dark and gloomy than the rest of the forest, and small flowers bloomed here and there among the dapples of sunlight. A tiny brook burbled contentedly at the far end. Darkrai floated in the center of the clearing, giving her an unreadable look.

"Oh..." Alice looked around at the tiny sanctuary, her breath taken away. "It's beautiful..." she got the feeling this was more than just another clearing. The trees and grass looked carefully tended, and she spied a well-worn hollow in the base of a nearby tree, lined with soft grass and leaves.

The forest was Darkrai's territory. But this serene clearing was his home. She felt humbled at his display of trust in her, to let her into this private place.

Chimchar hopped off her arm, into the grass. Darkrai twitched and sent a baleful look at the flame adorning the Pokémon's stubby tail. The unspoken warning was obvious: _you burn my clearing, you pay. _Chimchar, following the nightmare Pokémon's gaze, squeaked and quickly shifted to all fours, making sure his rump was high in the air, well above the grass. Darkrai let out a huffy sigh. Good enough, it seemed.

They stood like that for a few moments, the uncomfortable silence stretching on, until she felt a tug at her bag. "Chii." Chimchar looked up at her, pawing at the latch.

"Oh!" she remembered now. "I brought something for us to eat." She fumbled in her bag and pulled out the crumpled paper package from the market. "Do you like berries?"

Darkrai tilted his head and stared at the package intently. "I wasn't sure what you like to eat—" _I'm not even sure if you eat at all,_ "—so I got an assortment of them. I hope you like them."

Darkrai didn't move to take the package. Alice suddenly felt nervous again. _Is he offended? Was I wrong to—_ her thoughts were interrupted as Chimchar hopped onto her shoulder. He reached into the bag and pulled out a Sitrus berry, then, in a display of bravery, looked Darkrai straight in the eye and offered the food to him with a friendly chitter.

The Pokémon gazed at Chimchar, then at the berry, then slowly, carefully, as if making sure not to startle either of them, reached out and took the berry from Chimchar's hand. He looked it over thoroughly, turning it over in his taloned hands, then, brought it up over his red collar. It vanished into the shadows near his face, and a moment later she heard crunching noises.

She let out a short laugh, despite herself. Darkrai's gaze whipped back to her and he looked alarmed. "No, it's all right," she said, giggling. "It's just, I've never seen your mouth; your face is always hidden in shadow. I was worried that you might not even have one."

At this, Darkrai gave her a withering look. He reminded her of the way Tonio would good-naturedly roll his eyes after she told an awful joke. _"Really? Really." _As if to dispel any remaining doubt, he took another berry and popped it in his mouth, chewing extra loudly. Alice giggled. The pressure of anxiety that had permeated the air ever since the confrontation with Chimchar seemed to be melting away.

Darkrai seemed to be calming down in their presence as well. He slowly sank towards the ground, his wispy cloak fluttering around him until his body was nestled snugly in a seat of smoky darkness against the grass. Alice sat down and put the package of berries between them, and Chimchar hopped down next to her (being very careful to keep his tail a safe distance from any foliage).

They slowly worked through the bag of berries. Chimchar tentatively struck up a conversation, Darkrai replied back in a rumbling voice, and soon both Pokémon were speaking in relaxed, if slightly hesitant tones to each other. Chimchar even got up the courage to move from his position next to Alice to a spot about halfway between her and the black Pokémon.

She looked up at the two Pokémon. Darkrai sat about a meter away from her, watching Chimchar intently as the fire monkey demonstrated how to pry the tough shell off a Figy berry. She smiled. He really wasn't scary at all, seeing him like this. To be honest, he was almost entrancing to watch. That deep black body with the shock of white hair, always gently billowing like a thin plume of smoke... and his eyes. Those impossibly vivid, light blue eyes, so out of place among his dim markings of red and black. His eyes always seemed to take hold of her whenever they rested on her, looking at her and only her as if she was the only thing in the world worth seeing.

They ended up staying until dusk. Alice played her leaf whistle for them, and the two Pokémon lapsed into contented silence and just listened to the peaceful tones for a long time. Darkrai even let Chimchar off with a mere bloodcurdling glare when the fire Pokémon accidentally scorched a patch of grass in a moment of inattention.

As the light faded, Darkrai led them back through the forest until they reemerged on the weathered path. Alice couldn't keep the happy smile off her face. "Thank you for spending time with us," she said to Darkrai. She held out her hand, and he rested his fingers on it. "I really enjoyed it."

She was about to leave, but something had been niggling at the back of her mind for a while now. "Darkrai," she asked, "Why are the other Pokémon so frightened of you?" Plenty of Pokémon were territorial and would attack intruders—the Luxray pack had nearly taken her arm off once when she foolishly wandered onto their turf, even though she fed and played with them every day. And she knew that the Ralts families that inhabited the garden could psychically manipulate emotions to evoke irrational fear just like Darkrai did. But yet, none of them were regarded with the stark terror that she'd seen on the faces of every Pokémon that heard Darkrai's name. It made no sense.

Darkrai's blue eyes narrowed at her question. He looked into a spot far off in the distance, as if trying to figure out how to word his response. When he finally fixed his eyes back on her and spoke, his reply sent a shiver down her spine.

_**I hurt people.**_

And before she could compose herself enough to ask him what he meant, he melted into the shadows and was gone, leaving her and Chimchar alone on the ragged path.

He hadn't said that phrase in a past tense, _there was a time when I hurt someone _kind of way_._ He had spoken it in the same way someone would comment on a simple law of nature. _Trees grow, rain falls, flowers bloom... I hurt people._

Clutching Chimchar close against the sudden chill that seemed to fill the air, Alice headed towards home.


	3. Chapter 3

Another weekend, another afternoon to get away from work and relax. Alice sat on the lip of the small artificial river running down the stone walkway of Godey's garden. In the water around her, a veritable swarm of Finneon and Lumineon clustered close to the surface. She would have liked to think they were just glad to see her, but everyone involved knew the real reason for their excitement: the leftovers of a sandwich in her hand. She smiled and tore off small bits of bread for the Pokémon to chase.

"Chiii..." Chimchar leapt up next to her and sat down with a heavy sigh. That was surprising. He'd run off earlier to find Shinx. She hadn't expected him to be back so soon.

"Watch out, the Finneon are splashing." Alice warned him. He didn't move. "What's wrong? Were you not able to find Shinx?"

Chimchar made a dejected noise and motioned to the end of the walkway. A powder-blue muzzle and two sad golden eyes peered out at them from behind a bush. Ah, there he was. But Shinx made no move to join his friend. What was wrong...? Alice was about to get up to see if Shinx was all right, when the bush rustled and a Luxio that Alice recognized as Shinx's mother emerged onto the walkway. The Pokémon noticed Alice and Chimchar and looked them over with a wary, distrustful eye. Then, she picked up her son by the nape of his neck and hurried back into the brush.

Well, that had been odd. Alice and Chimchar were usually on good terms with Shinx's mother. "Huh." Alice said, perplexed. "Did he have some place to be?" Chimchar shook his head. Something else, then. Alice wondered what it could be. The only time Shinx's mother had been really angry with them was after that one time Chimchar helped Shinx climb a huge tree without realizing that the cub Pokémon couldn't get down easily like he could. Shinx had been stuck in the tree for an hour before Gallade arrived and rescued him. But that had been a long time ago.

In her inattention, she had set the sandwich down on the lip of the river. With a mighty splash, a Lumineon leapt halfway out of the water and latched onto the sandwich. Alice yelped as water splashed onto her lap, and Chimchar leapt away from the offending liquid. The Lumineon dragged the food back into the river, where the swarm descended on it like a pack of vegetarian Carvanha.

"Oh, great..." Alice stood up and examined her dripping clothes. "You guys sure are patient, aren't you?" she called at the Pokémon in the river. The only replies were a few splashes on the surface of the water as they chased down stray fragments of bread. Chimchar chuckled. "Hey!" she looked down at her Pokémon. "Don't tell me you think this is funny! I'm all wet!"

Chimchar pointed at her and chittered something in an amused tone. "What's that?" Alice cupped her hand to her ear. "You want a bath in the river?" Chimchar froze mid-laugh. "Did I hear a yes? ...Well, if you insist!"

Chimchar took off like a rocket, and Alice laughed and gave chase, forgetting the strange behavior they'd just seen.

* * *

><p>Alice didn't want to stay in the garden for too long—she'd promised her mother that she'd come over for dinner that evening—but she still hurried down the garden path to the deep forest to pay a quick visit to Darkrai.<p>

Several days ago, she'd been walking through the edge of his territory, and was surprised to see blackened gashes and gouges running down the trunks of several nearby trees. She felt like she had seen those kind of marks somewhere before... then Darkrai materialized as usual, and the first thing she'd noticed was that his forearms were crisscrossed with long, shallow cuts, as if he'd raised them to block a clawed attacker. She'd gasped and insisted that he come with her to the Pokémon Center right away, but he just frowned at her. She'd then tried to tempt him to go with her, talking about how nice and comfortable the Center was and wouldn't he like to have those stinging cuts fixed up, but he just glared at her; _I am not a child, cooing at me will not change my mind_. In a last ditch effort, she'd gathered her courage and fixed him with her most intimidating glare, and he'd responded by staring back with such a bored expression that she quickly gave up.

Some of those cuts ran almost from elbow to wrist, and she was sure that they'd get infected without proper treatment. But Darkrai didn't want to leave the forest, and he was not a Pokémon that responded to threats or coercion. Quite honestly, it was probably dangerous to try something as brash as a threat against the powerful Pokémon. Battling was ingrained in every Pokémon's nature; it was simply the way they settled disputes and established hierarchy. Anyone with half a brain cell knew that if you wanted to challenge a Pokémon, no matter how friendly it acted, you had to be ready to physically back up your bravado. She knew Chimchar would never stand a chance. He was a companion, not a battler, and she didn't want to subject him to a fight. Darkrai at least allowed her to use some of the spray medicine she kept in her purse on the wounds.

Luckily, her fears seemed unfounded. Darkrai's cuts seemed to be healing without incident, to Alice's relief (and muted annoyance; she hoped he wasn't the type to gloat about being right). She and Chimchar decided to stay for the afternoon until it was time for dinner. Alice had her flute with her and some sheet music to practice. Darkrai and Chimchar had claimed the berry package for themselves and were sitting nearby—it seemed like bringing a package of berries for lunch had become a kind of ritual between the three of them. Darkrai rested quietly against a tree trunk, mostly silent, as Chimchar recounted tales from hot air balloon trips, acting out his and Alice's adventures in excited detail.

Chimchar, in a particularly frenzied bout of charades, tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his face. Darkrai looked over the embarrassed Pokémon and caught Alice's eye. His expression was so contentedly deadpan that she had to put down her flute in a fit of laughter. Chimchar let out a mortified wail at her—_how dare you laugh at my pain!_—and quickly composed himself in a huff.

Chimchar reached out to take the last berry from the package, just as Darkrai moved to do the same. Their fingers collided and the two Pokémon froze. Alice paused with her flute halfway to her lips. The two Pokémon stared at each other for a moment. She could tell neither of them really cared about the Pecha berry enough to KO each other over the right to devour it. Then a mischievous light flashed in Chimchar's eyes, and he leapt back, dropping into a crouch and flaring his tail flame with a friendly grin. Alice recognized the playful stance. She saw it all the time when Chimchar was bored and wanted to let off energy, or as a signal that he was going to try and sneakily steal her lunch. Chimchar chattered a quick challenge to the larger Pokémon with a grin.

Darkrai, however, didn't seem to grasp the lightheartedness behind the action. He rose up and back, eyeing the Pokémon that had seemed peaceful just a moment ago, then flared out his cloak in an obviously aggressive gesture. Chimchar's eyes widened in surprise and he dropped into a submissive position. He chattered at Darkrai in a confused voice, and Darkrai relaxed, looking just as perplexed as Chimchar. They exchanged a few more words, then Darkrai looked over at Alice.

_**What does he want,**_ the dark Pokémon asked her. Alice set down her flute and looked at Chimchar, and the fire monkey shrugged in confused exasperation. He had seemed pretty obvious in his intentions.

"Well... it seemed like he wanted to play-fight over that berry." Alice said, cautiously. Chimchar nodded. "He sometimes gets that way with me. We usually end up just chasing each other all over the place."

Darkrai tilted his head. _**He wants to battle?**_

"No, no!" Alice held her hands up. "_Play-_battle. Usually his idea of 'battling' over food is more like a game of keep-away."

Darkrai still seemed utterly lost. "You do know what keep-away is, right...?" Alice asked. Darkrai looked slightly offended at her tone.

_**Yes.**_ he said, his tone more blunt than usual. Alice shrugged.

"He's just silly like that." Chimchar gave an affronted chitter. "Hey, don't try to deny it."

Darkrai, however, still looked deep in thought.

_**Why. **_he finally asked.

"Why... does he like to play-fight?" Alice clarified. Darkrai nodded. "...because it's fun?"

Darkrai sighed and sank back against the tree, closing his eyes. He seemed suddenly tired.

_**Fighting is not fun.**_

Alice wasn't sure how to respond to that. She seemed to have struck a nerve. Chimchar shifted from foot to foot restlessly. He nudged the wrapper with the Pecha berry next to Darkrai, then scampered over to Alice's side. However, the nightmare Pokémon seemed uninterested in the food.

Alice played her flute to fill the silence, but her mind wasn't on the music. Even the trainers she knew, who put their Pokémon through seemingly brutal battles on a regular basis, told her that their Pokémon still loved to spar and play with one another in their spare time. She looked at the long, thin cuts on Darkrai's arms. What kind of life must he have led to feel threatened by a game of keep-away? She vaguely wondered if Darkrai had grown up with any siblings to roughhouse with. From the look of it, she doubted it. In fact, considering how terrified everyone in the garden acted toward him, he probably had never had any close friends at all.

Well, maybe they could do something to remedy that. She only hoped the solitary Pokémon would continue to open his heart to them.

* * *

><p><em>This is only half of what was supposed to be a seamless chapter. Splitting it up made this part quite short, but if I'd left it as is, the chapter would have been a hulking behemoth. I don't want to choke you poor people with any more text walls than I have to.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

It was a few days later, and Alice hurried through the garden on her lunch break. Chimchar had opted to stay at the baker's—he liked to help them out when they got large orders—so she came alone this time. She saw a few garden Pokémon in the distance, but for the most part there seemed to be nobody around. That was unusual; most of the time, she practically had to fight her way through the throng of eager Pokémon who came to greet her (and beg for lunch scraps). But it was probably for the best; she didn't have much time. She just wanted to quickly say hello to Darkrai and check up on how he was doing.

She rounded the corner in the deep forest path, expecting to see blue eyes peering out at her, but there was nobody there. _Odd_. Today seemed to be avoid-Alice day. No matter, though. Darkrai often chose this part of the day to tend to the small stream that wound its way through his clearing, and would get so wrapped up in his work that she'd managed to accidentally startle him a few times. She would just have to head to his clearing and track him down.

She pushed her way through the now-familiar ward that marked the edge of his territory. In the beginning, its effects had taken hold of her without her noticing; she'd responded to the sensation of fear almost on instinct, unable to separate the invading emotions from her own, not even knowing that there _was_ a distinction. Now, she could clearly tell where Darkrai's suggestive powers ended and her own feelings began.

She'd even begun to notice the phenomenon in other situations. The most obvious was around Darkrai himself. When he wasn't feeling reserved or distrustful, the Pokémon positively radiated emotion. She'd be speaking with him and suddenly, inexplicably feel defensive—only to realize the defensiveness wasn't hers. She got the impression that even Darkrai didn't quite grasp how easily his feelings bled into others. She'd also noticed the effects, unsurprisingly, around Gallade and Kirlia. After all, their species were famous for mirroring the emotions of those around them. What had surprised her the most, though, was when she'd been arguing, once again, with Alberto. Even something as innocuous as asking the time of day would inevitably dissolve into a shouting match between her and the snobbish baron. _He's so dismissive,_ she'd silently raged as she faced off with him. _He never even acknowledges my strengths or talents, the selfish jerk—_

But then, she'd registered what she was thinking with such a shock that she stopped talking mid-insult. Alberto _always_ acknowledged her flying skills, and her miraculous ability to befriend almost any Pokémon. Sure, he only did it to try and segue into a pick-up line, but there was no denying that he had a real admiration for her buried beneath the sexist remarks and utter disregard of her opinions. It was probably the reason why he hadn't given up on pursuing her after all these years. And once she realized that, she quickly began to recognize the telltale signs of emotional bleedover that she'd previously thought only occurred around Pokémon. _She _wasn't the one whose talents were being disregarded.

They'd, miraculously, ended that conversation on an almost civil note. And Alice had spent a long, humbling time afterward alone, thinking over the implications of what she'd realized—and the many, many rickety assumptions she had made over the years, about Alberto and countless others. Darkrai wasn't the only one benefitting from her frequent visits. He was helping her grow as well, in ways she didn't even know were possible.

She could see dapples of sunlight ahead. The path to get to Darkrai's home was almost second-nature to her now. She emerged into the clearing, brushing away a branch as she stepped into the open space. Across the small meadow, she spied a smudge of white-on-black next to the brook. But Darkrai wasn't busily combing debris out of the streambed or picking up dead leaves; he lay on the bank, his cloak fluttering weakly in the breeze.

Something was very wrong.

"Darkrai!" she cried as she hurried across the clearing. The Pokémon cracked open one eye and watched her as she approached.

_**Go away.**_ He growled as she knelt down next to him. He lay half-in and half-out of the stream, forearms submerged in the gentle current. She reached out and touched his arm near one of the long cuts, and he hissed and jerked the limb away from her fingers. Even under the cold water, the skin felt hot and inflamed. Oh no. The injuries had seemed to be healing so well just a few days before...

_**I feel tired. Leave.**_ Darkrai glared at her through slitted eyes.

"Darkrai, you need to go to a Pokémon Center," Alice said, pleading. He growled and swiped at her with a taloned hand. He seemed in no mood to negotiate. But the halfhearted attack was so weak that Alice only had to lean back slightly to avoid his claws. She bit back the retort that welled up in her—_if you'd just listened to me before..._ Gloating wasn't going to help anyone right now.

"Please," she insisted. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you just want to rest. But when a wound gets hot and swollen like this, it won't go away on its own." She swallowed. She'd seen Pokémon become permanently crippled or die from infected wounds because their inexperienced trainer insisted that their injury was 'just a scrape' and refused to get professional treatment until it was too late. It was heartbreaking.

_**Then use your medicine.**_ Darkrai glanced at her handbag.

She shook her head. "That won't work." she said. The spray medicine was just a mild pain reliever and antibiotic. "Darkrai, come with me. I'll stay with you."

_**NO. **_Darkrai's cloak flared, and he sent a wave of white-hot malice rolling over her. It was very clear; he was fed up with her nagging. In the past, the incorporeal attack might have sent her recoiling in terror. But now, she recognized it for what it was: just a flurry of emotion, nothing more. His eyes widened when she barely flinched at the onslaught and continued to look down at him in worry.

"I promise, I won't let anything happen to you." she pleaded. "I just want you to be all right. Please trust me."

He stared at her, frustration in his eyes, and she quietly held his gaze.

"I'm not being overprotective. You could die."

_**Die?**_ Darkrai murmured. _**I've done that before.**_ But the malice had melted from his voice. He reached one hand forward, towards her. He touched the grass near her foot, and then he was vanishing, melting away into smoke as if the ground were swallowing him up.

She stood up, confused. Darkrai was nowhere to be seen, but she could feel his presence. Around her, the outline of her shadow flickered and wavered like a weak candle flame. She took a step back and felt a strange sensation, as if the air was slightly thicker and took more effort to move through. Her shadow followed her, but sluggishly, in an oddly delayed movement. Her eyes widened. Amazing. He was literally resting in her shadow.

Alice breathed out a thanks to the Pokémon, and set off at a quick pace.

* * *

><p>She hurried to the Pokémon center as quickly as she could. She saw a group of Pidgey on the way out of the garden, but they'd taken one look at the unnatural shadow trailing behind her and scattered, screeching in alarm. The lobby of the Pokémon Center was relatively empty when she rushed inside. Nurse Joy looked up as Alice leaned against the counter to catch her breath. Not only had she jogged from the garden, but the effort of 'carrying' Darkrai's shadow form made her feel like she was trying to run through jelly the entire way there.<p>

"Alice, is something the matte—" Nurse Joy's eyes widened as Darkrai rose slowly from the ground next to Alice. The normally cheery and composed nurse took a step back, and the Chansey behind her cried out in alarm. "Oh my..."

"Hi, Nurse Joy. This is Darkrai. He's hurt," Alice explained between gulps of breath. "His arms..."

"Alice, that is a very dangerous Pokémon!" Nurse Joy cried. "I have to ask you to escort it out; it's a danger to the patients..."

_What?_ That was ridiculous. It was obvious that Darkrai could barely keep himself upright. The trip seemed to have taken a lot out of him, though he still tried his best to hold his head high and look dignified. He couldn't be dangerous to a Magikarp right now if he tried.

"He won't hurt anyone," Alice said. "He needs your help, badly."

Nurse Joy considered the nightmare Pokémon. Darkrai met her sharp gaze with a tired resignation. Finally, the nurse stepped forward, her mouth set in a thin line.

"All right." she said in a curt voice. "However, he cannot stay for extended recovery. I'm sorry."

Alice would take what she could get. "That's fine." Nurse joy motioned to her Chansey, and the pink Pokémon hesitantly approached Darkrai to lead him into the back. Nurse Joy didn't meet her eyes as she busied herself and showed the two of them through a door. Alice gave Darkrai a perplexed shrug behind the nurse's back. _I have no idea what the problem is. _Darkrai merely looked back at her with a terribly concerned look. Alice sat on a folding chair in the corner of the examination room as an assistant came in and nervously began taking vital signs. Darkrai was utterly silent, even when the assistant prodded his tender injuries. He kept looking at Alice searchingly, as if trying to read cues off her. She smiled at him with the most genuine look she could to try and calm him down.

_Why_ did everyone seem to regard Darkrai as evil incarnate? There were so many more menacing-looking Pokémon out there. Even Nurse Joy, the last person she would have thought would stereotype, seemed cold and hostile towards him. So what if he had an attack that could cause nightmares. Many other Pokémon had the same ability. And at least he didn't seem interested in using his powers to torment others, like some Ghost-type Pokémon she'd read about. It was ridiculous.

A Chansey came at Darkrai with a needle, and his eyes widened. He soared off the examining table and hovered near the ceiling, far away from the pointy object. "It's okay!" Alice called to him. "That's how they give you medicine. It won't—okay, it will hurt, but only a little." Darkrai looked at her as if she'd just commanded him to allow them to saw his arm off, but floated back to the examining table, regardless. Whatever had been in the shot must have been some kind of sedative, because his sharp eyes quickly grew dull and unfocused and he sank onto the table, not even twitching when the Chansey touched him.

As the doctors worked, Alice called up the couple she had scheduled for her tour that afternoon and told them she would have to cancel. It didn't take long to clean and dress the wounds, and before they knew it, they were being ushered back out into the waiting room. Darkrai was now in a near-stupor from the drugs in his system. Alice had to gently guide him to keep him from running face-first into the doorframe as they left. In the lobby, he bobbed unsteadily in the air. He gazed at the white bandages on his arms, and raised a hand to try and touch them—only to entirely miss the arm he was aiming for. He groped at empty air for a few moments before a confused expression dawned on his face. He then proceeded to stare dully at his hands as if someone had jammed them on the ends of his wrists as a practical joke. Alice would have found the spectacle hilarious if he hadn't looked so genuinely, heartbreakingly confused.

Nurse Joy walked up with a package and gave it to Alice. "This has an antibiotic treatment and extra wrappings." she explained. "You'll need to change the coverings once a day, and give him one tablet every morning and evening until the entire bottle is gone... try to keep him from battling or exerting himself." She seemed to have overcome the fear and suspicion of before. She put her hand on Alice's. "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier," she said, "but please, be careful." Her concerned look seemed to ask, _do you know what you're getting yourself into?_

"Thank you for everything, Nurse Joy." Alice replied with a deep bow.

"You're welcome..." she said, "But I am going to have to ask you to leave now."

Alice nodded and turned to Darkrai. She took his hands to try and draw his attention. "Darkrai?" she asked. "Can you turn into a shadow again? Like you did before?" Darkrai didn't seem to comprehend her words. He stared at her fingers as if they were the most fascinating things he'd ever seen.

Alice looked over her shoulder at Nurse Joy. _Is this normal?_ She mouthed.

"The antibiotics can sometimes exaggerate the effects of the painkillers..." Joy replied back quietly. "Usually not this much, though." she admitted. "It should wear off in a few hours."

Alice finally managed to coax the drugged Pokémon into her shadow once more, and she headed back out into the sunshine, feeling like she was dragging a lead weight behind her.

* * *

><p>"And then, he just batted at the flower over and over like a Skitty for literally ten minutes straight..." Alice and Tonio sat on the steps of the Space-Time tower, eating ice cream as the sun sank below the horizon. Tonio quickly tried to disguise his laugh as a cough when he saw Alice's upset expression.<p>

"It wasn't funny, Tonio! It was _sad!_" She put her chin in her hand. "He had absolutely no idea what was going on..."

Tonio coughed, composing himself. "Eheh... well, I'm glad you got him back okay, at least."

"He fell asleep fairly quickly, thank God." Alice said. "I stayed with him for a few hours afterwards, just in case."

"The Pokémon Center sure has some strong medicines," Tonio said. "I wonder if he's going to remember any of this when tomorrow rolls around."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Alice picked listlessly at her ice cream.

"Tonio... why does everyone hate him?" she finally asked, frustrated. "Even Nurse Joy, of all people. It doesn't make any sense. He hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, if it weren't for him, we'd probably all be dead."

"Actually..." Tonio said. "I got those research files from Professor Rowan I'd been telling you about. They might help explain why everyone seems to fear him."

Alice perked up. "How? What do they say?"

Tonio reached over to his rucksack. "Oh, shoot, I forgot my laptop... um... well, the gist of it was this. Darkrai are part of a group of Pokémon possessing something called a passive ability. Passive abilities are... how do I put this... constant phenomena or events specifically caused by the presence of the Pokémon in question. In other words, they're always there and they're usually outside of the Pokémon's control."

"Like the way Pikachu always attract lightning strikes, whether they mean to or not?" Alice asked.

"Yes! Exactly like that."

"Or like the way Alberto always manages to put me in a bad mood, no matter what he's doing?"

Tonio laughed. "He's got a rare, undocumented ability... no wonder he's always on his high horse. Anyway, researchers in Canalave City were able to conduct some studies on a local Darkrai that visits the city every year... fascinating experiment, really... but anyway. They determined that within a roughly one-kilometer radius around the Pokémon, Darkrai's passive ability causes terrible nightmares and drains the energy of anyone asleep. Depending on the proximity, it can also prevent sleeping people or Pokémon from waking up for several days."

Alice absorbed this new information, and her eyes widened. "Oh... oh my God." It all fit together. The isolation; that 'bubble' of eerily uninhabited forest around Darkrai's home was roughly one kilometer wide. The abject fear; after all, if Darkrai could afflict nightmares on people by mere proximity, it was no wonder they didn't want him wandering around. His utter refusal to leave the forest except under the direst of circumstances. Nurse Joy's panic; oh no, if any Pokémon had been recovering, asleep, in the Pokémon Center when she brought him there... "You, you said it was constant, right?" she asked. "He can't just turn it off."

"Right." Tonio confirmed. "The Canalave researchers think it may have evolved as a defense mechanism..." Alice shrank in on herself, pulling her knees to her chin. Her ice cream was melting into a runny mess, but she didn't care. "Alice, you all right?" Tonio asked.

"I'm fine, it's just... it all makes sense now." Tonio put a hesitant arm around her.

"He talks, right? Why didn't he tell you?"

"I don't know..." she sighed. "Actually, I think he might have tried, he just didn't do a very good job at it..." _I hurt people_, he'd said matter-of-factly. He hadn't been exaggerating. What was it like for him, to know that he caused suffering for everyone around him just by existing?

She later learned that three Pokémon at the Center required extended stays due to the effects of the nightmares they experienced during the short time Darkrai was there. In addition, shortly after she left, an older woman was hospitalized in a coma-like condition. She'd been taking an afternoon nap, and her daughter had been unable to wake her afterwards. Everyone affected had woken up the next evening and, physically, seemed none the worse for wear. But guilt still gnawed in Alice's gut. Her failure to learn simple facts about the powerful Pokémon was nobody's fault but her own. If she'd known... she could have called in to the center beforehand, or maybe even gotten a doctor to come to the forest instead...

Her newest friend was turning out to be even more trouble than she'd expected.

* * *

><p><em>Darkrai officially earns the Most Infuriatingly Vague Explanation-Giver award. Congratulations, Darkrai! What's really sad is that his obtuseness is entirely canonical. Also, Hyper Potions are one helluva drug.<em>


	5. Chapter 5

The trees seemed to close down on Alice today, as she walked down the forgotten path in Darkrai's forest. It hadn't been a good day. One of the trainers whose Pokémon had been affected by Darkrai's nightmares had tracked her down this morning and chewed her out in front of the people she was about to give a balloon tour to. Apparently the specters in his Pokémon's dream had frightened it so badly that it was hardly sleeping at all, and refused to battle any Pokémon with blue eyes. _What is wrong with you,_ the trainer had shouted. _So damn irresponsible_. If she hadn't been in front of clients, she would have shouted right back at him. As it was, she was forced to meekly let the trainer yell himself hoarse and leave in a huff. She'd had to endure the curious stares and polite silence of her clients for the next two hours as she tried to put on a professional front.

The dead silence of the forest around her reflected her bitter mood. She didn't even have Chimchar around to distract her; he was off working at the baker's again. She turned the bend that brought her to the edge of Darkrai's territory. The scarred trees on either side stood as forlornly as ever. Why did those marks crisscrossing the bark look so familiar? She stepped forward, brushing the invisible barrier—

And then a rush of swirling black filled her vision and she felt a force slam her backwards. She tried to gasp as her back crashed up against a nearby tree, but couldn't seem to find the air. Terror wrapped around her heart and she would have sunk shaking to the ground if it weren't for the hand pressing her against the rough bark. The stars in her vision slowly cleared, and her eyes focused on the two huge, icy blue ones staring down at her from inches away. Darkrai. But not the quiet, restrained Pokémon she knew; his eyes were flat, glinting, smoldering with anger. The hostility rolled off him in waves. And there was no mistaking that it was all aimed, like a thousand daggers, straight at her.

Her voice shook, cracked. "D-darkrai, what—?" She tried to reach a hand out to him. _It's me, Alice, your friend—_But his other arm shot out, snatched her limb by the wrist and pressed it back, against the tree. She'd seen the power in the claws wrapped around her arm and pressing against her neck and chest. She knew it was only by restraint that he wasn't snapping her bones as effortlessly as one would crunch twigs underfoot. And by the look in his eyes, it was a very thin restraint indeed.

_**What happened.**_ He growled. She glanced at the scuffed white bandages wrapped around his arms.

"Yesterday? I... I took you to the Pokémon Center." she said. It was hard to keep her voice steady. He was so murderously _angry..._ why was he so angry? Was he going to hurt her? God, he could do anything he wanted, here in this deserted forest. She was acutely aware of how utterly alone they were, how completely helpless she was to defend herself in any way.

_**I hurt people yesterday.**_ He rumbled. _**Why did you let me hurt people? What happened?**_

A shock of realization shot through her. That was what he was so angry about? "Y-you were dying!" she cried. "I had no idea bringing you there would hurt anyone. Why didn't you tell me?"

At that, he released her and drew back. She slid to the ground in a wide-eyed heap. _**Why didn't I...**_ He glared down at her. _Please don't hurt me_. She thought. But he didn't move towards her, just stared with such a virulent expression of contempt that she wanted to sink into the bark. _**You said, "Trust me."**_ He said. _**I assumed you knew enough about me to deserve that trust.**_

It was like he'd shoved a knife into her chest. She'd felt guilt over the people affected by her mishap... but now she suddenly realized the reason for his anger, and the repercussions of her mistake. He didn't spend every waking minute isolating himself, so much time making sure that kilometer-wide bubble of forest stayed empty, just for kicks and giggles. It was obvious, in hindsight, that he went to an enormous effort to prevent people from falling into his nightmares. She'd never done a thing to earn his trust, and yet he'd given it to her anyway, thinking she'd uphold his ideals... and she'd taken that for granted and let him down. No wonder he was looking at her as if she were dirt. "I... I'm sorry." she murmured.

_**That is not good enough.**_

"What was I supposed to do!" she cried. He didn't answer, just stared with those piercing, judging eyes, and she knew that he knew how easy it would have been to call in a doctor, or to ensure nobody in the center was asleep. But she hadn't done that, had she. She'd been careless... no, she'd been uncaring. She hadn't bothered to learn before acting. Alice wrapped her arms around herself. She wished he would look away. She felt naked under his disgusted glare.

_**Why do you come here?**_ He asked suddenly. _**Am I your newest checkmark on your list of friends? A novelty?**_

Is that why he thought she came... "No!" she answered. "No, I wouldn'—"

_**Then why.**_

"I..." she was suddenly speechless. Why _had_ she sought out the elusive nightmare Pokémon? She'd been curious. More than a little in awe. And surprised that he'd managed to live in solitude, all these years, right under her nose. Had... had she really just searched him out so she could mark him off as another friend gained, like some kind of conquest? Was she that shallow?

_**I enjoyed your visits.**_ Darkrai said. _**I... wanted very much to know what it was like to be your friend. **_And for a split second, Alice felt, through the waves of hostility, a glimpse of years and years of solitude, of watching from the shadows as others made friends, fell in love, raised children, explored the world. A deep admiration—towards _her,_ of all people—an awe at how she could put smiles on the faces of everyone around her, of how she seemed to treasure and cherish everyone she met. She felt sharp, jagged slivers of hope, like shards of glass slicing deep into whatever they touched. A painful, broken fragment of that hope wrenched to the surface, as this fascinating human named Alice willingly sought him out, befriended him, seemingly looked past the curse that stranded him alone in this desolate forest and made him hated by everyone. Could it really be? Someone who would look past the nightmares? Maybe she was different. She had to be different. Things could change. She felt the electric anticipation, a swooping euphoria promising something brighter, something better, every time he heard footsteps at the edge the forest. And then, like a hammer blow, the sinking, crushing realization that this Alice didn't even know about the nightmares. Either that, or she didn't care. She wasn't different at all. She was just playing around with the newest novelty in her garden like a toy found at the dollar store.

_**But your games must stop. Your actions are hurting everyone.**_

As suddenly as it had appeared, the emotional window slammed shut.

Tears pricked her eyes. Partly from the accusation that she'd do something as petty as treating friendship like a game to be won, and partly because she wasn't sure if he was wrong. She'd never known the level of commitment her actions had seemed to show... how gravely she'd misled him, and how thoroughly she'd crushed his trust. "I... I never thought it was a game. I never thought you were a game." she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry..."

Darkrai regarded her with a stony gaze. His normally expressive eyes were shuttered off, opaque. Walled off from the rest of the world. Like she'd first seen him all that time ago as he fought against the whole town to protect their home. Now she was an outsider as well.

She knew she should just leave. Any further words on her part might set him off, provoke an attack; she didn't know what he would do. She had never really known him at all. But her mouth was moving despite herself. "Darkrai, I, I... I never wanted to hurt you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I just wanted to know you... I..." She desperately wanted to reach out, grasp his hands, make everything better... but that coiled stance, those angrily whipping tatters of cloak, told her that her sappy gestures would most definitely not be welcome.

_**You want to know me? Then. Learn. **_He leaned down—she flinched at the outstretched claws without even meaning to—but he was just grabbing her bag, which had fallen on the side of the road. He tossed it in her direction. _**Do not visit me again unless you understand—truly understand—what you are doing. And tell your friends to stop attacking me.**_

And then, as suddenly as he'd appeared, he was gone. All that remained was the heavy, suffocating miasma of anger and bitter sadness that settled over her like a fog and threatened to choke the air out of her. She sat tense, frozen for what seemed like an hour, as if the slightest twitch would bring those hell-black claws wrapping around her throat. Then a choked half-sob escaped her, and she curled up on herself. She felt shaken, stripped bare. Considering his enormous strength, he had barely touched her. She had a few scrapes from the tree bark and a bump on the back of her head. But his words, his accusations had ripped deeper than any physical attack could possibly have. She'd never been on the receiving end of that bitter anger before. She could understand a little better now, why the Pokémon of the garden regarded Darkrai with such intense terror.

And God... she'd blown it. She'd blown everything. What had she been thinking? He'd been right. She'd been treating all this as a big game, not even considering the consequences. Not even realizing there _were_ consequences. Did she really treat friendship like some kind of competition? _"I'm friends with every Pokémon in the garden," _she'd often said with pride. What a disgusting reason to string on the emotions of others. And she'd never known... how highly he'd viewed her, for years and years. The raw hope she'd tapped into without even realizing when she'd searched him out. Admiration and hope that she'd never deserved.

She looked up, and finally remembered where she had seen that pattern of blackened, crisscrossing gashes that raked across the tree trunks.

"_It's an attack called X-Scissor." Tonio told her as they watched Gallade leap and dance across the courtyard, the blades on his arms pulsing with pale blue energy. Gallade shot forward and slammed his arms in a harsh motion against the hapless tree that he'd chosen as his opponent. The shuddering blades crisscrossed deep into the hard bark with a thud that reverberated throughout the courtyard. Alice shivered at the raw power in the attack. "It's a useful attack for Psychic-types," Tonio explained. "Not only is it effective against other Psychics, but against Dark-types-who usually have a huge advantage over Psychic Pokémon like Gallade-it's absolutely devastating."_

Alice recalled the concern in Gallade's eyes, his gentle tugs on her arm whenever he saw her venturing towards the forest, the anger and fear that rolled off him whenever she said Darkrai's name. He'd always been extremely watchful over her, always so concerned for her safety. She would bet anything that he had finally become unable to stand by idly and had attacked Darkrai out of a sense of protectiveness towards her. There was no other reason for Gallade to actively search out the nightmare Pokémon.

So, not only was the incident at the Pokémon Center her fault, but so were the injuries that made Darkrai so ill in the first place. Just her visits had, indirectly, caused him harm.

It was a long time before she could gather herself together and, trembling, venture back out of the darkness, into the sunlight of the garden.

* * *

><p>After some persuading by a concerned Chimchar, Alice ventured from her apartment to Tonio's lab and told him everything that had happened. The poor scientist had nearly panicked when she'd come in, disheveled and red-eyed. He'd sat her down with a blanket and gotten her some hot chocolate (she didn't mention that it was far too warm outside to be drinking hot chocolate; she just accepted his token of comfort with gratefulness and snuggled into the blanket with Chimchar).<p>

"You know," Tonio finally said after she finished, "I was really surprised, back when you told me about your first few visits with Darkrai. How docile he acted around you. From what I'd seen of him before, he didn't seem like a very friendly Pokémon at all."

She swirled her spoon in the hot chocolate listlessly. "I was surprised too. He's actually very patient. But... I, I think I used up his patience." Chimchar was eyeing her drink from the corner of his eye, seemingly torn between _if you don't want it, I'll take it_ and _I'd be a horrible person for trying to mooch off your comfort food._ She rolled her eyes and pushed the beverage towards the Pokémon.

"I guess... he just thought his ability was common knowledge. Or that anyone brave enough to seek him out would know what they were getting into. Professor Rowan seemed very surprised that you'd already met with him without learning about it beforehand." Tonio said.

"I should've known," Alice said, wilting. It wasn't as if the clues weren't glaringly obvious. "What's that they say... learn everything about the wild Pokémon in your area before approaching them? I guess I've never been very good at that." She recalled now, other incidents in which her blithe lack of foreknowledge had gotten her into trouble. That incident with the Luxray's territory, or the time she'd had great fun playing with a heap of bubbles she'd found in a corner of a pond... not realizing she'd just destroyed a Finneon's breeding nest. Immediately after that, every Finneon in the garden had promptly started following her whenever she visited and would spray angry jets of water at her whenever she got within fifteen feet of a water source. She'd had to endure surprise soakings for almost a whole month.

"But still..." Tonio said, "It would have been nice for him to give you a heads up! _By the way, I cause horrific nightmares wherever I go, just so ya know..."_

"Yeah... I guess." she said. Tonio lapsed into silence as he saw that he wasn't helping to cheer her up. Chimchar stopped chugging her hot chocolate with a guilty look on his face. Alice just couldn't forget that terrible, crushing feeling she'd felt as Darkrai let slip his emotions. His bitter disappointment at her naïveté. Maybe he should have been more communicative (he seemed to have a big problem with that in general). But the fact remained that _she_ had been the one to seek him out, not vice versa. The responsibility sat squarely on her shoulders.

"Tonio..." she finally broke the silence. "Is that really the reason I like to go make friends with Pokémon? Just so I can say I did? Like it's some... some kind of twisted Pokédex entry?"

She looked over, and to her surprise, Tonio's eyes were twinkling. "Does it really matter?" he said with a small smile.

She gaped. "What? Of course it does!" But he had that look in his eyes, the one that said he had more to explain. "Okay, you, talk."

"Do you remember how we first met?" Tonio asked.

What? What kind of a question was that? "I... uh... well, we met in first grade, I know that..." Alice mused. Well, this was embarrassing. It had been so long ago, and they'd known each other for so long, all the encounters seemed to melt into one another... she glanced over at Tonio, but he was still smiling that contented-looking smile.

"It was on the third day of class. When the teacher had us split up into pairs for P.E." Alice dimly recalled the teacher having everyone split up to do exercises together. "Nobody liked me. They thought I was scrawny and nerdy and they said my glasses were stupid. And then out of the blue, you showed up." Tonio said. "You just said, 'Hey, I'm Alice! Wanna be friends?' Well, I was really shy back then, and boy, I had no idea what to do with the cutest girl in the class paying attention to _me—"_

Alice punched him in the shoulder. "Oh, stop it." Tonio laughed and put his arm around her, and she leaned in, grateful for the contact.

"—So... I just went along with you. And after P.E., you invited me to sit over with your friends and draw pictures together... you even punched a kid in the nose when he said I was dumb!"

Alice giggled. She _did_ remember that. She'd gotten put in the corner for that, but it had been worth it. Tonio continued. "When I finally had the nerve to really talk with you, I asked you what made you want to be my friend. And you smiled said, 'Well, you looked lonely! I don't want people to be lonely!'"

Alice looked up at him. "Really? I said that?"

Tonio nodded. "Back then, hearing that made me upset. I thought, 'Oh... she's just doing this out of pity. She doesn't really like _me_.'" Alice frowned, and Tonio squeezed her hand. "But you know? You kept right on being my friend, even after I made a few friends of my own. You invited me to your house, and showed me how to pet the Shinx without getting zapped, and helped me make batteries out of potatoes... and look where we are now." He motioned around.

"How long has it been, now?" Alice mused. "Fifteen years? No, it has to be more than that."

"My point is," Tonio said, "Maybe we only met because you were feeling pity for the poor nerdy kid. And yes, that seems a bit shallow. But you took that beginning and turned it into a relationship that's lasted decades. So, I don't think it's so important how you first meet someone; whether you're just taking pity on them, or if you want to have a Pokédex of friends or what have you. What's really important is how you continue that friendship once you've started it."

Alice sighed. If that were the case, she'd taken her beginning and made a pretty thorough mess out of it. She was distracted by Tonio adjusting the blanket around her shoulders. "By the way," he added, looking her in the eye, "Thank you, for taking pity on that poor nerdy kid back in first grade. I wouldn't be who I am today without you."

This time it was her turn to blush. "You dork... you're so sappy!" she hugged him and he squeezed back. "Thank you," she said, resting her head on his shoulder. "That... really helped."

"No problem, Alice." Tonio said. They stayed in that half-blanketed embrace for a few contented moments. Alice spied Chimchar sitting on the ground a few feet away, holding her half-drunk hot chocolate awkwardly. He'd never been very comfortable around them when they decided to get touchy-feely. She smiled.

"So, what are you going to do?" Tonio asked as Alice sat back. "This Pokémon isn't easy to commit to. From what you've said, half the garden is in an uproar about your associating with him."

Alice remembered Darkrai's anger, the huge hand pressing her against the tree as effortlessly as if she were a leaf. "I... I really don't know." She said. "Nurse Joy was right. I don't know what I'm getting myself into."

Chimchar hopped onto the table and chirred at her. She scratched his head absently. "Well, if it'll help, I'll keep asking around for any research." Tonio said.

"That would help, Tonio. Thank you." Alice said. Tonio got up to move to his computer station, tripped over the hot chocolate mug Chimchar had left on the floor, then promptly slipped in the spilled liquid and fell crashing in a heap, taking several stacks of files with him.

"Oh God! Tonio! Are you all right?"

"I... I'm okay!"

Well, at least it was still business as usual around here.


	6. Chapter 6

_The chapters, they're getting longer!_

* * *

><p>As it turned out, her indecision was, at least at first, solved for her: in the panic of their last meeting, she'd completely forgotten to pass on the medicine that Nurse Joy had prescribed. Shame or not, there was no way she could abandon Darkrai to get sick again. So, reluctantly, she slunk back to the forest the next morning with Chimchar trailing behind her. After a few hesitant shouts into his territory (she didn't dare to cross his invisible barrier, not now) he appeared, and she relayed the information that Nurse Joy had given her. He accepted the package of medicines and bandages without fuss, and she and Chimchar quickly left. The whole exchange felt stilted and formal. It was almost painful to see the shutters drawn behind his crystal blue eyes, hear the too-even, deadpan tone of his voice. She was a stranger.<p>

Once again, she noticed the conspicuous lack of Pokémon as she traveled through the paths of the garden. It was downright unusual, and it had been happening for nearly two weeks. Just as she thought this, she and Chimchar rounded a trellis and saw a Kirlia_—_the same one they'd met with Gallade_—_picking berries in a bush to the side of a walkway shaded with a flowery, arched pergola. The Pokémon jumped when she noticed Alice and Chimchar, and looked positively alarmed. But Kirlia knew her... they'd met before. What was wrong?

A few seconds later, Alice heard a familiar rustle in the treetops, and Gallade hopped down onto the walkway and made his way toward them. He put an arm around Kirlia and looked at Alice questioningly. Alice realized with a start that he was sporting two partially-healed black eyes. So it _was_ him who picked a fight. She wanted to stalk over, shake him, yell, "_Why?__ Why __would __you __do __that? __He __never__ hurt __anyone!_" But, (she fumed inwardly) she knew, from years and years of knowing him, that whenever Gallade did something, he always did it with the very best of intentions. He had always been that kind of person. Never mind that his good intentions, this time, were disastrous.

"Hi, Gallade," Alice finally said, trying to stamp down her upset mood before the two psychic Pokémon could pick up on it. She realized how long it had been since they'd spent time together. He had Kirlia now, and she had Darkrai. "Do you have a minute to talk? Are you busy?" Gallade looked mildly surprised, but shook his head. He led them out the walkway, to one of the many gazebos dotting the garden. Kirlia trailed along, clinging to Gallade's arm. Alice asked a bit about how they were doing, Chimchar made small talk, and for a short time, everything seemed as ordinary as it had been before. But every time she looked at Gallade's slightly swollen eyes and pale face tinged with shades of purplish green, she remembered why she was here.

"Gallade," she finally said, and both he and Kirlia picked up on her changed tone right away. "Your face..." she said. "You're the one who gave him those cuts, didn't you?"

Gallade's eyes flashed. He didn't have to be told who the 'him' was. "Did he put you to sleep?" she asked. Gallade frowned and looked away. Apparently so. And not before giving him a magnificent punch in the face for good measure, it seemed.

"Why?" she asked. "Why did you attack him?"

Gallade turned back towards her, looking frustrated. She felt a nudge at her mind. Gallade had a different 'voice' than Darkrai. His telepathy was more like the transfer of images and feelings rather than words. But the meaning was still clear.

_I did it for you._

"Did you think he was going to hurt me?" she asked, trying her best not to jump to accusations. She felt a pulse of affirmation. But then, at the same time, something more... Gallade wasn't just afraid of Darkrai hurting her.

He was afraid of... the other Pokémon in the garden hurting her.

What on earth? "The other Pokémon?" she asked.

He nodded, and sent another pulse of emotion her way. _You __befriend__ that __nightmare. __So __everyone __is __afraid __of __you._His telepathy pushed the worry towards her: what if she spent so much time with Darkrai that the other Pokémon started to think of her as a threat too? He didn't want her to be hurt. He wanted to get rid of the source of the danger.

She felt a flame of indignation once again. Darkrai was not a danger. But she forced her anger down, galling as it was. Gallade knew the garden better than she did, she told herself. And what he was saying was downright disturbing. "Gallade... is it really that bad?" she asked. "Are they that afraid of one Pokémon that they'd hurt anyone who befriended him?"

At her question, Gallade turned to Kirlia and spoke a few words. The smaller psychic pokemon frowned, glanced at Alice, then back at Gallade, fidgeted with the hem of her skirt. When Alice got her next mental reply, it came from the both of them. _These __are __the __minds __of __the __Pokémon __of __our __garden_, they said to her. And suddenly, she wasn't perceiving two minds, she was perceiving hundreds: all the Pokémon she knew, all living and dying and working together in the garden they called home. Before she could even wrap her head around this huge new sensation, a hundred minds' worth of terror pounded over her like a smothering wave and she was swept from her body in a rush of heartstopping fear. All those fears twisted in on each other to lead back to a single source: a black, billowing monster, a demon that had blighted their garden for nearly a century, lurking in the forests, inflicting horrors on any who crossed its path. Over the years, it had grown from a mere Pokémon into a legend, a living manifestation of terror ingrained into the very culture of the forest, passed down in whispers from parent to child for generations.

It hurt everything it touched. Alice felt the despair of a hundred mothers as they watched their too-bold children suffer through deathlike sleep after trying to challenge it. She felt abject terror, a skittish, irrational fear of blue eyes and black-clawed hands, forever haunting those who had fallen to the nightmares. They were never the same. The Pokémon learned that the least painful solution was to let the nightmare run free and pretend it didn't exist. The less they mentioned it, the less they thought of it, the better. Yes, it had emerged to help drive away those invading legendary beasts. But, they reasoned, this was because it didn't want to have to pack up and find a new place to live, not out of any altruism on its part.

She felt their fear of it like a disease, always lingering in the dark corners of their minds. They didn't go into the forest at night, and sleeping was never truly safe. And she felt the dull anger, the resentment: why _them?_ Why didn't it find another place to haunt? They hated it, and they hated that it chose to torment them. Maybe if they went on with life as if it weren't there, it would finally leave, or die.

And then, the mental imagery turned to... her. Alice, the kind, gentle human who played the beautiful music. She was little thoughtless sometimes, but that was okay. (Was that really how they saw her?) But suddenly, after that attack by the legendaries, their Alice willingly sought out the nightmare that had emerged from the forest during the conflict. And kept seeking it out. Why was she encouraging it? Had it put a spell over her? They didn't know what it was doing to her; they didn't know if she was still the same Alice they had once loved. But they knew if she kept rousing it, kept disturbing that carefully-maintained status quo, terrible things could happen.

A person who would bring that nightmare down on their heads could not be a friend.

Slowly, Alice's blank eyes perceived the worn white railing of the gazebo again; she felt the weight of her body on the seat underneath her and the grain of the wood beneath her fingertips. Her perception sank out of the mesh of minds, back into her own solitary body. She sat back, eyes wide. Gallade had mentally projected to her before, but never on that scale. She hadn't even known it was possible.

More importantly, though, was what she had seen. It was staggering.

She swallowed, trying to find her voice. "That's... really what they feel?"

Gallade nodded, gravely. _We__'__re__ afraid__ for __you. __But__ everyone __else __is__ afraid __of __you._

It was all clear now. Darkrai wasn't just some amusing ghost story told to scare young Shinx. He was... somehow... an unspoken symbol of darkness and terror running generations deep, gouged into the landscapes of their minds. And she'd been avidly associating herself with that terror. Suddenly, the Pokémon's mysterious elusive behavior made perfect sense. They hadn't all just become busy these last few weeks_—_they'd been actively avoiding her. The actions of Shinx's mother were clear too. She was just protecting her baby from what she saw as a threat.

They no longer trusted her.

Alice wasn't sure what to think as she and Chimchar excused themselves_—_they did have to get to work_—_and left the two Pokémon at the gazebo. As they ventured out of the garden, she noticed, more clearly than ever, the lack of Pokémon around her.

She hurried off, towards her crew's meeting site. Maybe work would clear her head.

* * *

><p>"Chii."<p>

Alice glanced down as she and Chimchar walked down the street. They had just packed the balloon away into its home at the back of the crew pickup truck, and were heading back to the apartment. Chimchar stared up at her with his deep brown eyes, a reproving look on his face. Work hadn't cleared her head. It'd been a short flight, just across the town, but the wind had picked up suddenly halfway through and made for a hard landing. Even so, if she'd been paying closer attention to piloting, she knew_—_and Chimchar knew_—_that they wouldn't have tipped the basket when they touched down. Everyone was fine, but it was still frustrating.

She sighed. "I'm sorry." she said. "I've just been thinking."

Chimchar hopped on her shoulder and let out a curious chirrup. She recognized the sounds as the ones representing Darkrai's name. "Yeah," she said, and sighed. "Chimchar, what am I supposed to do? I didn't know what I was getting into. I didn't even realize all the bad history between Darkrai and... well... everyone in this town, it seems like. I didn't realize just how much... everyone hates him."

Chimchar let out a noncommittal murmur at this, but didn't seem to know what to say.

"I mean... do you like him?" she asked.

"Chii!" Of course he did. He practically idolized the Pokémon.

"Me too..." she said. "But... nobody else does. God, they're terrified. Even Shinx won't play with you now." Chimchar frowned. It was true; the little blue cub hadn't come back to play ever since his mother carried him away. "And the other Pokémon won't come near me. They're afraid of me too. What could he possibly be doing that is so terrifying?" She pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just... I don't want to have to choose!" From what she'd gathered, Darkrai had lived quietly in that secluded area for decades, never aggressing unless aggressed first. And still, even though he took every precaution to minimize the effects of his passive ability, every inhabitant of the garden had that horrific, abnormal fear of him, born from generations of superstition and nightmares. They tiptoed around his existence and wanted nothing more than to see him dead or gone. It was no wonder she hadn't heard of him before; they must have been trying to shield her from Darkrai's very existence in an effort to protect her.

What could she do? Defend this Pokémon she'd just met, and lose the trust of every Pokémon companion she'd made in the last two decades? Or stop, maintain the status quo once again, and affirm that crushing, heartbreaking sadness he'd let slip? So this was what he'd meant by 'knowing what she was doing.' No wonder he'd been so shocked, all those weeks ago, when she sought him out. He thought she already knew all this, and had made the choice to stand by him anyway. What a huge hope she'd given wings to. No wonder he felt so betrayed that she'd never made that choice in the first place.

Ah, she'd really screwed up.

Chimchar had been sitting silent, watching her think. He suddenly leapt off her shoulder and disappeared into the bushes nearby. Alice stopped and waited. She heard him scuffling about, smelled a slightly worrying burning odor. Then he reappeared, freshly adorned with twigs and dirt. He had something in his hand. He leapt back onto her shoulder with a grin and presented her with his prize.

It was a leaf. She took it from him, slightly confused. And then she understood. She'd used this simple little instrument to work miracles, all her life. Ever since her childhood, there had been fights, hatred, disagreement, all around her, inside the garden and out. And every time, she hadn't just sat by idly. She'd talked, reconciled, heard both sides, and yes, soothed seemingly implacable anger with her music. Her nosiness had gotten her in a lot of trouble over the years. But it wasn't in her nature to sit back. She had always been an instrument for change.

And now, she'd found a fear, a misunderstanding more powerful than anything she'd ever seen, right in the garden she'd known all her life, hurting the people she loved. And she was going to leave it to fester? Say it was too hard to face?

"Do... you think I can do it?" she whispered. Chimchar nudged her shoulder and smiled.

This kind of thing hadn't been easy in the past. It hadn't been easy to convince the Luxray pack that she wasn't betraying them by feeding their mortal rivals, the Purugly. It hadn't been easy to convince her friends in first grade to accept a nerdy, scrawny _boy _into their group. Why on earth did she think it would be easy now?

She wasn't going to stand by. And she was _not_ going to abandon the one who had cared for her, saved her life and given her his trust.

Relief seeped through her frame. She smiled. It was going to be tough. But it was right. "All right, then." she said to Chimchar. "We've got some work to do."

* * *

><p>She spent that evening dutifully poring through the research texts Tonio had gotten her. She learned the names of Darkrai's attacks, slogged through the tedious data documenting the range of his abilities (didn't scientists believe in summaries?), learned the average duration and effects of his nightmares. She learned that Darkrai were very active on nights of the new moon. She read with a chill that some people, after falling into a Darkrai-induced nightmare, never woke up for the rest of their lives. (That seemed like pretty rational grounds for fear, she thought.) She also learned about a Pokémon named Cresselia, the apparent counterpart to Darkrai, possessing the ability to grant pleasant dreams and break Darkrai's nightmare spells. If only one of those lived here too.<p>

One thing she noted, over and over, was that anyone who fell into a Darkrai's nightmare immediately showed a fear of the Pokémon way out of proportion compared to what a normal dream could cause, to the point of panic attacks and insomnia. Apparently, the Darkrai research in Canalave almost had to shut down simply because so many scientists quit the project after experiencing the powerful nightmares.

She mused quietly to herself as she read. How she would react if she experienced one of Darkrai's nightmares? She thought of the invisible barrier of malice marking Darkrai's territory, and his sweeping emotional attacks. It couldn't be much different than those. And after all the good things she'd seen and learned of Darkrai, how could a bad dream change her mind?

* * *

><p>The next morning, Alice found, with a mix of dismay and delight, that the wind of yesterday hadn't died down. It was far too breezy to do any kind of safe ballooning. Although that killed her wages for the day, it also gave her the whole day off. First, she and Chimchar shoveled through the necessary errands of the morning. Then they made a beeline for the garden; specifically, Gallade's part of the garden.<p>

She tracked down her friend, and promptly told him in no uncertain terms that she was going to visit with Darkrai again. Gallade looked torn between wanting to knock his head against a wall and wanting to knock some sense into her.

_You don't understand! That nightmare will hurt you! The other Pokémon will hurt you!_

"I understand that..." she said, carefully. "But Gallade, I'm willing to take that risk." He looked at her incredulously, and she gave a weak smile. Behind her, Chimchar chimed in his agreement. He was in on this too.

_You don't understand._

"Please, promise me." she said. "Promise me you won't attack him on my behalf again. And tell your friends not to, either. I'm choosing this myself. I'll deal with the consequences."

Gallade stared at her with an anguished look. His worry cascaded over her. She smiled, trying to look reassuring. "I'll be okay."

He wasn't convinced; that much was clear. But he didn't refuse.

There was one thought of Gallade's that had crowded out all others, over and over again. It was, _You__ don__'__t __get __it, __you__ don__'__t __understand. __You __just __don__'__t __understand_. What didn't she understand? She probably knew more about Darkrai now than Gallade did. She knew he was powerful, she knew he caused horrific nightmares just by proximity, and she knew that the other garden Pokémon might very well attack her for allying with him. It wasn't like Gallade to be dismissive of her experience. What was it that he thought she didn't comprehend?

* * *

><p>She and Chimchar walked towards the deep forest. She was grateful that her Pokémon was here to keep her company; she had no idea what she was going to say or how she was going to say it. She wondered, now, if he would even want her help any more. They reached the dilapidated fork in the road that branched off into the dark, forgotten trees. She paused, and Chimchar chirruped and leapt onto her arm. She swallowed. Nothing else left to do but go in.<p>

She took a hesitant step forward, toward the shadows_, _when suddenly a high, plaintive voice called out behind her. Chimchar whipped his head around, and Alice turned. There, peeking shyly from the bushes on the far side of the path, was a powder-blue face framed by two comically-oversized ears. Golden eyes looked up at them with a hopeful gaze.

"Shinx!" Alice said. A smile spread across her face. Chimchar let out a happy cry and bounded over to greet his friend. Seeing another Pokémon in the eerily empty garden was like finding water in the desert. Alice had no reason why the cub had suddenly appeared, but she wasn't complaining. Shinx and Chimchar spoke cautiously, haltingly at first, but quickly warmed up until they were chattering to each other at the familiar breakneck speed that she'd grown accustomed to hearing from them. Shinx seemed overly relieved for some reason. She recognized a certain pattern in his speech and realized he had just mentioned Gallade. Did he know that they'd spoken the day before?

Shinx said something lighthearted_—_it sounded like a question_—_and Chimchar's face suddenly drew into a frown. When Shinx saw this, the smile on his face froze and the atmosphere turned to ice. Chimchar murmured something back quietly, and Shinx's halting grin melted away entirely. He glanced at his friend as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, then looked past them, at the entrance to the dark forest, fear written on his face.

Alice realized what they must be talking about. She knelt down. "Shinx," she said, and the small cub flicked his concerned gaze towards her. "Did you think we changed our minds about Darkrai, after talking with Gallade? Is that why you came back?"

Shinx let out a low whine. _How__ could__ you __NOT __change __your __mind?_ His expression seemed to say. Alice sighed.

"I'm sure you know that Darkrai causes nightmares, right?" she asked. The electric Pokémon shrank back and tucked his stubby tail close to his body. "Did you know he doesn't do it on purpose? He can't even control it."

Shinx tilted his head to the side at this. Apparently this was news to him.

"Imagine how horrible you'd feel, if you accidentally hurt someone. Imagine having to keep everyone away from you, all the time, so they wouldn't accidentally get sucked into a nightmare. Wouldn't that be so lonely?" Alice asked. Shinx's brows furrowed. This interpretation was obviously not one he was used to. He let out a mewl. _But __that __can__'__t __be __right,_ his tone said.

"Yes, Darkrai attacks Pokémon in the garden. But how many of them attacked him first?" Alice said. "You've known Chimchar for years. He's not stupid. Aren't you curious why he seems to like Darkrai so much?"

Shinx glanced at her, then down at the ground, looking engrossed in thought. He glanced back at the entrance to the forest, but this time, beneath the distrust, Alice saw a sliver of curiosity in his gaze. He turned to Chimchar and murmured a disbelieving question, and Chimchar grinned and answered back in enthusiasm. Alice could see it as they talked; a tiny, struggling bud of conflict growing in the electric Pokémon's eyes. A conflict between what he'd heard all his life about this nightmare Pokémon, and what his very best friend seemed to be telling him.

Shinx glanced back at her in a lull in the conversation, and suddenly Alice realized what she could do. "Hey... come with us!" she blurted out. "We're going to his forest, just for a little while. You can come along and find out for yourself."

Shinx's eyes widened into saucers, and he stepped back with a horrified mewl. "No, really." Alice reassured him. "Chimchar and I wouldn't bring you somewhere you could get hurt. We're your friends."

Shinx let out a murmur of protest and scuffed the cobblestone path with his paws, looking at her as if she'd asked him to throw himself into a pit of Scyther blades. "I know Darkrai seems scary," Alice pressed on, "but I think a lot of it's because people just don't understand. It's scary not to understand someone. And the best way to fix that is just to get to know them better. Did you know Darkrai's favorite berry is the Mago Berry?"

Shinx perked up and let out a questioning noise. Alice knew that was Shinx's favorite as well.

"We won't make you come." Alice said. "But it could be fun. You could even make a new friend. Chimchar did. What do you say?"

Alice stood up then. Shinx stayed rooted to the spot, looking torn. He turned to Chimchar, brows furrowed, an utterly helpless look written across his face. He mewled a question at his friend, sounding for all the world as if he were asking _is __it __really __safe?__ Is__ it __ok?_ (Which, Alice guessed, he probably was.) Chimchar answered his friend with the enthusiasm he always showed when talking about Darkrai and, seemingly to illustrate his point, fanned up his tail into a smoky billow of black in a dramatic imitation of Darkrai's shadowy form. Shinx skittered back a few steps at the display, but kept his eyes glued on his friend in fearful fascination, an incredulous half-smile tweaking the edges of his muzzle as if it felt guilty to be there.

Alice waited, and waited, and Shinx sat there, conflicting emotions churning across his face as Chimchar talked encouragingly at him. Doubt grew in the pit of her stomach. She'd tried to go too far too fast, hadn't she. She was finally about to speak up and tell the poor Pokémon not to worry about coming when Shinx squeezed his eyes shut, screwed up his face, and threw himself at Chimchar with a half-despairing cry of resignation_._Chimchar looked up at Alice with an incredulous grin before enthusiastically hugging his friend and chattering at him a million miles a minute.

Alice gaped in surprise. She hadn't expected the little cub to actually agree. "You_—_you want to come?" she asked. Shinx nodded firmly, though his face was screwed up with worry. "It's really okay if you don't. We're not going to be mad at you or_—_" Shinx cut her off with a short bark; _don__'__t__ make __me __lose __my__ nerve!_

"All right, all right..." she said, a grin spreading over her face. This was... great! Things were already changing! "This'll be awesome, Shinx, just you watch. C'mon!"

She led the way towards the entrance. Chimchar danced ahead, nearly dragging his friend along. Shinx stuck close to Chimchar, glancing at him and back at Alice with a hesitant half-smile as if to assure himself that they weren't just playing some elaborate prank on him. He looked like a kid who'd agreed to sneak onto school grounds after hours with his friends. Doing something absolutely forbidden, but still kind of cool too. Alice hoped beyond hope she'd be able to help him abandon that fear he had. He wasn't the whole garden, but he was a start.

They had just stepped into the shadows of the forest when a low, gravelly snarl stopped them dead in their tracks.

The hairs stood up on the back of Alice's neck. She turned, slowly, towards the source of the noise. There, behind them, stood a lean, imposing Luxio with murder in her eyes. Shinx's mother. The Pokémon stood a few strides away. Her head was down and her hackles up, and her molten glare bored unblinkingly into Alice. Y_ou__'__re __threatening __my __baby. __I__'__ll __hurt __you._ the glare said. Alice quickly dropped her gaze and took a step away from Shinx. _Oh __dear, __oh__ crap._ Behind her, Shinx let out a soft cry of alarm and Chimchar gave an _eep_ of surprise.

Luxio's gaze flicked to her son, and she let out a gruff bark. Alice knew that one: _come __here,_ she was saying. Shinx looked positively terrified. It was obvious he hadn't gotten permission to come visit Alice and Chimchar, and now mommy had caught him red-handed. He rose to his paws, glancing up at them. He leaned forward towards his mom. And then, inexplicably... he stopped. And sat back down, firmly, next to his friend. His face hardened into a mix of obstinacy and fear. He shook his head and let out a yelp that, although it was high-pitched and wavering, still rang with defiance.

Luxio obviously hadn't expected that. Her golden eyes widened for a moment. Then she drew herself up, seeming to grow twice as tall. Alice felt tiny prickles of static run all along her clothes. Luxio stalked forward, slowly, each paw placed deliberately. She halved the distance between herself and the group. Then she let out her _come_ bark again. There was a long silence. Alice glanced down. Shinx looked like he was fighting the urge to flee. Chimchar looked just as scared, but had a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. Once again, the cub let out a soft, wavering _no._

Luxio's lips curled in anger and she pressed forward with a snarl, quickly closing the gap between them. The bands on her arms crackled with arcs of electricity. Alice backed away from the approaching mother and Shinx skittered backwards, keening in fear. They were in over their heads. Alice wanted to tell the cub _stop,__ drop __it, __just __go __with __your __mom! _But she couldn't seem to make her mouth work.

And then, Chimchar stepped forward. He planted himself firmly between Luxio and her son with a growl. Luxio paused and eyed the smaller Pokémon. Chimchar raised his hands as if to shield his friend and let out a series of barks and chirrups as he stared the larger electric Pokémon in the eye. Behind him, Shinx gazed at his friend in wonder. Alice's stomach dropped into her shoes.

The larger Pokémon drew into a crouch and growled out a warning. But Chimchar didn't back down, just flared his tail flames. Alice finally found her voice. She licked her lips. "Chimchar," she said. "Chimchar, stop. Come here. I'm serious, let it go." Luxio was far, far out of his league. Chimchar never battled. If they got into a fight, he could get so badly hurt...

But Chimchar didn't seem to hear her. He'd dropped into a crouch too, eyes fixed on his opponent. He shouted something angry, and Shinx's mother snarled and lunged, teeth bared. Shinx squealed in alarm and scrambled back. "_Chimchar!__"_ Alice shrieked. But Chimchar dodged and Luxio's jaws closed on open air with a _snap_ like a bear trap slamming shut. Chimchar's tail flared and he retaliated with a sweep of white-hot flame. The larger Pokémon backpedaled and leapt out of the spread of the fire.

The two Pokémon started circling, eyes locked. Shinx was crying something to them, looking terrified. Alice tried too. "Chimchar! Luxio! Please don't fight!" But they were deaf to the rest of the world. She should have known this would happen. It was the way the Pokémon world worked: if you opposed someone, you had to back up your words with your body. She and Chimchar wanted to oppose the entire garden. She'd hoped to do it peacefully, like she'd managed to do for years. But this time was different.

Once again, Luxio broke the stalemate and lunged forward. Chimchar blew another burst of flame at the electric Pokémon, but she was ready this time. She twisted and leapt to the side, and in the same motion, her tail swept around to catch Chimchar in the stomach. Chimchar stumbled and fell. Before he could find his feet, Luxio had turned and pinned him with a heavy paw. Chimchar struggled, flared his tail_—_and then suddenly, the clearing lit up in a blaze of white light as Luxio sent an electric attack surging through her claws.

"_Chimchar!__"_ Alice cried. Tears filled her eyes. Chimchar's face was screwed up in pain as Luxio relentlessly shocked him. Alice ran forward. She didn't know what she was doing, but she had to do _something._ Maybe if she pushed Luxio away, the attack would stop_—_

She was about a meter away when Luxio glanced her way. An arc of electricity flared from the Pokemon's arm bands and shot towards her. Alice felt a white-hot, searing pain in her shoulder that shot down her spine like a clap of lighting. And then, all of a sudden, she was flat on her back, staring up at the blue sky. She sucked in a shallow breath of air as spots danced in her vision. Her ears still registered the snapping of electricity in the air. _Chimchar!_ She tried to sit up, turn over, do something, but her body wouldn't respond properly.

Then, a loud _thud_ reverberated through the clearing, and she saw something large and dark blue moving across her vision. It was Luxio... flying through the air above her like a rag doll. The electric Pokémon sailed over her head and crashed to the ground nearby with a snarl. Alice lolled her head towards Chimchar and saw a large, black figure looming protectively over him. Darkrai!

Luxio let out a low growl, and Darkrai answered by flaring his cloak and charging a wave of pulsing dark energy in his palm. Luxio seemed to think twice of challenging that, and took a step backwards. She barked, and this time the now-distraught Shinx responded right away, dodging around Darkrai and racing to his mother's side. The two Pokémon fled into the brush.

Alice let out a shaky breath. They were alive.

She tried to move her body again, but her limbs responded sluggishly, as if they'd fallen asleep. A moment later, Chimchar appeared next to her with a cry of concern. He smelled like burnt fur and was limping.

Alice coughed. "Hey, you all right?" she asked. She tried to raise her arm to touch him, but only managed to flop her arm to the side awkwardly. Whatever Luxio had done, it had seriously affected her ability to move. Chimchar let out a soft chitter and hugged her. "Hey, I'm fine." she said. "I'm just glad you're okay."

She looked up, and saw Darkrai floating above her. He gazed at her with an unreadable expression. They looked at each other, not speaking, for a moment. Then Darkrai dipped down, hesitantly reached forward as if to pick her up, glanced at her again.

She broke the silence. "Is this going to last a long time?" she asked.

_**The **__**attack**__** was**__** only**__** meant **__**to**__** stop **__**your **__**movement.**_ Darkrai said. _**It**__** should **__**go **__**away**__** within **__**a **__**short **__**while.**_ He supported her head with one hand, her body with the other, and lifted her off the rough cobble. Her eyes widened_—_she instinctively tried to grab onto him for support, but her limbs wouldn't work. But he had a secure hold on her. He set her down on the grassy side of the road, propping her up against a tree trunk. Chimchar wobbled over and curled up in her lap.

"Thanks," she said. "This is a lot more comfortable."

Darkrai gave her a nod and settled into the grass nearby. They sat in silence for a moment, as Alice tried to flex her fingers. She seemed to be getting a little more feeling back into them. Finally, Darkrai spoke.

_**You know now.**_

Alice nodded. "Yes, I know now. Pretty first-hand, I'd say." she chuckled, but Darkrai didn't seem to share her amusement.

_**If**__** you **__**know **__**what **__**it **__**means **__**to **__**be **__**here,**_ he asked, his telepathic voice sounding strained, _**then **__**why **__**are **__**you **__**here? **__**Don't **__**you **__**understand?**_

Alice's smile faded. She looked up into Darkrai's piercing eyes. "I'm here because I don't think anyone should have to live like this." she said.

Darkrai frowned. _**I**__** have **__**a **__**home. **__**The **__** Pokémon **__**don't**__** attack **__**me **__**often. **__**Well... **__**didn't**__** attack **__**me **__**often. **__**This **__**is **__**a **__**good**__** life.**_

She sighed. "I know you've got a stable life here, but do you _like_ it?" she asked. "Do you like them being terrified of you? Do you like being alone all the time?"

Darkrai didn't answer. "I think we can change things," Alice said. "They don't have to be afraid. You shouldn't have to spend your life in solitary confinement."

_**No**_, Darkrai said then, _**this **__**is **__**how**__** Darkrai **__**live. **__**This **__**is **__**how **__**Darkrai **__**have **__**always**__** lived.**_

She faltered. Of course. This was just the way things were. She ought to just turn around and leave. But she caught herself. ...Those weren't her emotions talking, those were Darkrai's. She almost laughed at the realization. How he could be so distant and yet project his emotions so easily was beyond her.

"It doesn't have to be!" Alice said. A little grin was growing on her face. "I mean, just a month ago, we worked together and got the two most powerful Pokémon in the _universe_ to stop hating each other. Who's to say we can't work together and get a townful of ordinary Pokémon to stop hating you?"

Chimchar chirruped his agreement from her lap. Darkrai looked at her, then, really looked, as if he were seeing her again for the first time.

_**You'll be hurt.**_

"I know." she said.

Darkrai didn't speak. So Alice did instead. "If you didn't think I could do it, then why did you show yourself to me all those weeks ago when I first came looking for you? You must've known what would happen if you did."

Darkrai gave the telepathic equivalent of an exasperated sigh. Alice grinned. She tried to move her arm, and to her delight, it worked. Her motions were still jerky and uncoordinated, but she could control her movements enough to reach up and grasp Darkrai's hand. Well, more like the edge of his palm, but the thought behind the gesture was the same. Darkrai flinched, but didn't pull away.

_**What is your plan?**_ he asked. Alice shrugged.

"I'm not sure yet." she said. "I'd still like to try something. But I can't do it on my own. Darkrai, will you help me? Will you give me another chance?"

She held his gaze. It was just like the beginning. His eyes fell subtly out of focus and he paused for a long, long, agonizing moment. She could see the thoughts flitting across his face like frightened birds. It would be easy, so easy for him to say no. Hope was painful to keep alive, after all. They'd forget this silly, misguided thing they'd been doing, and life would go back to how it was. She would have her friends and her happy garden, with the exception of that one patch of forest that nobody entered. He would have... whatever he had here. A life of watching from the shadows.

And then, she felt Darkrai's hand close, slowly, hesitatingly around hers, as carefully as if her fingers were made of glass. His eyes came back into focus, taking hold of her and drawing her close in that breathtaking way, as if she were the only thing in the world worth seeing. _**You**__**'**__**re**__** the **__**Alice **__**I **__**thought**__** you **__**were, **__**after **__**all.**_ he said. _**I **__**still **__**don't**__** think **__**this **__**is **__**very **__**wise. **__**But**__** if **__**you**__** truly **__**wish, **__**I'll **__**help **__**you.**_

"We'll make things better." Alice whispered. "We'll figure something ou-_aaugh_!"

Darkrai's eyes widened. _**What's**__** wrong?**_

"Pins and needles! _Everywhere!_ Oh my God! Is this normal?"

Darkrai's eyes crinkled into a smile and she felt a rush of mirth. "Hey! Don't laugh at me!" But she was laughing too even as she tried to scold.

As the three of them spoke, Alice spotted a glimpse of powder blue down the road. It was Shinx and Luxio, peering through the brush at them. Shinx's eyes widened as he realized she could see them, and he vanished into the underbrush. Luxio shot Alice a glare before following her son.

It was going to be a long road, this process. But they were together. That had to be worth something.


	7. Chapter 7

"Chii!" Alice glanced up from the musical score she was jotting notes on to see Chimchar make an impressive leap and shoot a blast of flame in Darkrai's direction. The shadowy Pokémon dodged at the last moment and shouted something down at Chimchar, motioning with his hands. His still-bandaged arms were protected with some scraps of nonflammable fabric Alice had brought from home. (Living with Chimchar, she had plenty of the stuff.) Alice sighed and turned back to her work.

Training was the first item on the roster, according to Darkrai. He couldn't be around to keep an eye on Alice all the time, and so Chimchar had to learn to hold his own in case Alice found herself in danger. The two Pokémon had been sparring all morning in a large, bare clearing deep in Darkrai's territory. Chimchar hadn't made a whole lot of progress, but he _had_ set the trees on fire three times. It would have been much safer to practice in a more non-flammable area, like down by the ponds, but they all agreed that the Marill families there probably wouldn't take kindly to having their backyard being made into target practice (or having a terrifying nightmare Pokémon flitting around their homes).

Alice tried to tune out the sounds of their battling as she attempted to do her homework. She reached down to pick up the leaf whistle she was using to test notes, and suddenly the scraggly grass a few feet away exploded in a flash of heat and flame. She gasped and scrambled backwards as scorched plant bits pelted the ground around her.

"Chi!" Chimchar screeched and raced over to her side. "Chii?" He looked up at her, eyes wide.

Alice let out a shaky breath and tried to slow her racing heart. "No, I'm fine." she managed, and gave Chimchar a pat on the head. Darkrai swooped next to her and looked her up and down, then, seemingly satisfied that she was unhurt, turned towards the now smoldering patch of grass and began to pat it out.

_**Chimchar**__** has**__** good **__**control**__** over**__** his **__**fire**__** abilities,**_ he said, _**but **__**only**__** if**__** he**__** is **__**standing**__** completely **__**still. **__**He**__** is**__** not**__** very **__**agile.**_ Chimchar shot a glare at the nightmare Pokémon and gave an affronted growl, and Darkrai rumbled back a languid response in his own tongue.

Alice laughed. "That's for sure." She gathered her slightly singed homework from where it had scattered. "Hey, Darkrai." she said. The Pokémon stopped what he was doing and turned to her. "Shouldn't I be... I don't know, participating more with you two?"

Darkrai tilted his head. _**Why.**_

"I mean, I'm Chimchar's trainer..." Alice began. Darkrai didn't respond, just looked at her as if asking her to explain herself. She wasn't sure what more there was to explain. "I mean, shouldn't I be learning how to command him?"

Darkrai gave her a look that made it apparent she'd said something wrong. _**I**__** have**__** never **__**understood **__**why**__** humans**__** insist **__**on **__**commanding**__** Pokémon.**_ he said. _**Do **__**you **__**think**__** they **__**are **__**too **__**stupid**__** to **__**battle **__**on**__** their **__**own? **_His tone wasn't condescending, but the words stung all the same.

Alice's jaw dropped. "No! When did I ever say that?"

_**You are not the one battling. You do not know what it feels like to battle. What possible advantage could you give your Pokémon, besides distracting him?**_

Alice opened her mouth, slightly outraged despite herself, but realized she had no real response. She'd never really thought about it. Nobody ever said _why _trainers and Pokémon fought together... they just did. When she didn't say anything back, Darkrai turned and floated back to the center of the clearing, saying something in the Pokémon tongue to Chimchar. Her Pokémon glanced at her with an apologetic look before following.

"Could you at least speak English so I can understand you?" Alice shouted behind them. Darkrai didn't respond, but the next time he spoke to Chimchar, it was in his universal telepathic voice. Alice scowled and let out a huffy sigh before picking up her work and moving further back, near the treeline. The last thing she needed was to have her homework_—_or herself_—_incinerated by another wayward attack.

She idly watched the two as they trained. Darkrai had proposed that they stop the fire practice after their near miss, and they decided to work on recovery instead. It was vital to keep moving after taking an attack, Darkrai explained to Chimchar. Alice felt the undercurrent of urgency in his tone. He seemed to have far too much personal experience in the matter.

He started off with gentle pushes and shoves meant to unbalance Chimchar in novel ways. Chimchar tripped and stumbled and fell on his face at the slightest provocation. He had always been clumsy. He was very sensitive about it, especially since his species was supposed to be agile and quick on their feet. Alice could see the embarrassment on Chimchar's face as he lost his balance yet again. Darkrai was clearly frustrated at Chimchar's ineptitude, but admitted that he couldn't give very good advice. His version of agility largely consisted of "float through the air," which wasn't a whole lot of help to his gravity-bound student.

They moved onto dodging. That, Darkrai could teach_—_or at least, would have been able to teach if Chimchar didn't have two left feet. He spoke about understanding the different types of attacks a Pokémon could unleash, how important it was to listen, to feel the slightest movement of air that could signal an impending strike. He covered Chimchar's eyes with one of the pieces of nonflammable fabric, and sank into the ground, to pop up at random places around Chimchar like they were playing some kind of bizarre game of Whack-a-Diglett. Chimchar's objective was to locate and avoid him. He materialized behind Chimchar, and the smaller Pokémon shrieked and flailed, tripping and landing face-first in the grass.

After that, Alice could tell Chimchar's embarrassment had reached its limits. Chimchar halfheartedly attempted to dodge a few more times, but it was clear his heart wasn't in it. He always got discouraged when people pointed out his shortcomings. Finally, Darkrai was fed up. He snatched the blindfold off Chimchar's face. _**What**__** are **__**you **__**doing? **_he snapped. Chimchar mumbled something under his breath. _**Do**__** you **__**think **__**they **__**will **__**care?**__** Do**__** you **__**think **__**they **__**will **__**feel **__**sorry **__**for **__**you?**_ Chimchar dropped his gaze and squeaked out a half-sincere apology. But Darkrai would have none of it. _**If**__** Alice **__**was **__**in **__**danger, **__**would**__** you **__**roll **__**over **__**and**__** give **__**up **__**because **__**you **__**think **__**you **__**are **__**not **__**as **__**agile **__**as **__**other **__**Pokémon?**_ At that, Chimchar screeched in reply, anger on his face. Alice got to her feet. This training was edging uncomfortably close into a real conflict. But Darkrai's next words made her pause. _**I**__** know **__**you **__**wouldn't.**_ he said to Chimchar. _**You **__**were **__**brave **__**in **__**front **__**of **__**Luxio. **__**Braver **__**than **__**I **__**would **__**have **__**been.**_

The two of them stared at each other. Chimchar looked like he didn't know what to say. Then Darkrai floated backwards, into the sky. _**Show**__** me **__**that **__**bravery **__**again.**_ he commanded. _**Defend **__**yourself!**_ And he shot down towards the smaller Pokémon.

Alice's eyes widened. "_Hey!_" she cried. Chimchar squealed and stumbled backwards at the sudden aggression. Darkrai swung an outstretched arm and sent the Pokémon tumbling head-over-heels across the clearing. Chimchar managed to find his feet, but Darkrai was already behind him. He lashed out, knocking Chimchar's legs out from under him, then sent him flying once more. "Hey! Stop it!" Alice cried. But Darkrai ignored her. He wasn't using his full strength_—_far from it_—_and it looked like he was specifically angling his blows to avoid touching Chimchar with his claws. But he was still sending her Pokémon meters into the air, and those landings didn't look soft.

Chimchar wasn't fighting back. He keened in fear as he was sent bouncing across the grass like the ball in a pinball machine. Alice stood frozen, not knowing what to do. And then, unbidden, a memory sprang into her mind.

"_How do you do it?" the elderly man asked Alice, watching as Chimchar leapt effortlessly across the scaffolding of the hot air balloon and blew a stream of flame into the envelope. They floated a dizzying height above the ground, and a single misstep would mean a long, fatal fall. "I can't even get my Skitty to ride in the car with me, and here your Pokémon's taking orders like it's nothing while we're kilometers up in the air."_

_Alice smiled. "It's funny, actually. Chimchar used to be afraid of the balloon. But I promised him that I'd stick with him, and no matter where we were, we'd get through things together." Chimchar hopped down into the basket, and she gave him a scratch on the head. "He keeps me safe, and I keep him safe. We've been able to do things together that we never would have managed alone."_

_The tourist nodded. "That's what my son says about his Pokémon too. He's a trainer, you know." he remarked. "So how long did it take Chimchar to become the little master pilot he is now?"_

_Alice laughed. "Took a month to convince him to get within ten meters of the balloon." she said. Chimchar glowered at her, and she ruffled his hair. "But I wouldn't have cared even if he never got in the basket."_

Alice took a step forward, her mouth set in a thin line. Across the clearing, Chimchar lay curled in a ball. Darkrai hovered, ready to dive again. Alice let out a shout.

"Chimchar, get up!" Her voice rang across the clearing.

Chimchar's eyes snapped open at her voice and he scrambled to his feet as if by instinct. Darkrai shot Alice a questioning look. She met his gaze evenly. The nightmare Pokémon frowned, then focused his attention back on Chimchar and lunged straight down. Chimchar froze in fear as the black form hurtled towards him.

"Use your fire!" Alice shouted, and Chimchar snapped out of his daze. He took a quick breath and blew a hurried gust of flame into the air. It was messy and uncoordinated, but it forced Darkrai to dodge to the side. "Keep your eyes on him!" Alice called. "Don't let him get behind you!" Chimchar obeyed, circling on all fours as Darkrai hovered above him. The nightmare Pokémon weaved back and forth, trying to find an opening, but every time he darted forward, Chimchar sent him scrambling out of reach again with a breath of flame. The smaller Pokémon glanced back at Alice with a grin, and she smiled encouragingly.

Then Darkrai swooped fast, behind Chimchar, and the little Pokémon stumbled and tripped as he tried to turn to follow. In a flash, Darkrai was bearing down on him. "Your tail!" Alice cried. Darkrai swung an arm back as he rushed forward, preparing to knock Chimchar across the clearing again, when Chimchar's tail flame roared into a mini-inferno. Darkrai threw himself out of the way at the last second. He skidded several meters in midair from his own momentum before coming to a stop.

Chimchar peeked out from behind his hands as if amazed to be still alive, and Darkrai shot Alice a withering glare. Alice merely gave the black Pokémon an innocent smile. Then Darkrai changed tactics. He sank into the ground, becoming a wraithlike shadow on the grass, and weaved forward, ghosting around Chimchar like a Sharpedo circling its prey. Chimchar chittered nervously as he tried to track the shadow's path.

Without warning, the shadow shot across Chimchar's path. Chimchar crashed to the ground in a heap as if he'd fallen over a tripwire. Darkrai abruptly reversed direction and crested partway out of the shadow, flinging the fire Pokémon halfway across the clearing as effortlessly as if he were tossing a rubber ball. Chimchar screeched as he bounced painfully to a halt. "Chimchar!" Alice cried. Training or not, her friend was getting hurt. Darkrai sank back into the ground and shot in a zigzagging line towards Chimchar, who was laboriously picking himself up. Half a second and Darkrai would be on top of Chimchar again. "Behind you!" Alice yelled. Chimchar's ears perked, and without even turning to look at what he was aiming for, he twisted, flinging his fist backwards. Darkrai chose that instant to pounce from the shadows.

A _thud_ reverberated through the clearing. Chimchar fell sprawling on his back, and Darkrai recoiled, clutching his face. Time froze for a second. Chimchar stared at the larger Pokémon, his breathing quick and labored, and Darkrai hovered half-submerged in his shadow, a hand over his eye.

Then Darkrai held out his hand to the smaller Pokémon. After a moment's hesitation, Chimchar took it, and Darkrai helped him to his feet.

The battle was over. Alice ran over to the two of them. Chimchar hopped gratefully into her arms and she gave him a gentle squeeze. "You all right?" she asked. "You did really well!" Chimchar responded by clinging to her arm and burying his face in her shirt with a groan. She leveled a stony glare at Darkrai.

"That was too harsh." she said.

Darkrai was unapologetic as he rubbed his eye with the back of his hand. _**Battles are**__** harsh.**_ he replied. _**And**__** you **__**cheated.**_

Alice glowered. She hoped he got a black eye. "We didn't cheat." she said. "We worked together. That's what trainers are for."

_**So trainers are an excuse for Pokémon to be inept on their own.**_

"_No,_" Alice fought to keep her voice even. "I wasn't trying to make him depend on me. He wouldn't have needed me if he had more experience. But right then, he needed someone to help him." She looked the nightmare Pokémon in the eye. "Sometimes, we can't always do everything alone." she said.

Darkrai didn't respond, just stared at her with a skeptical gaze. "You know, I think that's the answer to what you asked before." she mused. She looked down at Chimchar as she stroked his orange fur. "Pokémon have trainers... so they don't have to fight alone. Even if they have weaknesses, they know they have a friend who believes in them. Someone who can give them answers they might not have... who can celebrate with them when they win and share the blame when they don't." She paused. "I know that sounds cheesy, but it really can be powerful. Just the knowledge that you're not on your own."

She glanced back up, expecting a sarcastic reply or a bored stare, but Darkrai's gaze had become solemn as he looked at the two of them. She felt a gaping sense of distance, although he was only a meter away, as if they were standing on opposite sides of a chasm that nothing could bridge. She felt the fleeting glimpse of a hundred moments spent watching silently from the shadows, and realized just how damning her words must have sounded to someone who had spent his life utterly alone.

_**It**__** does**__** sound**__** silly. **_Darkrai finally said. _**But**__** I**__** believe**__** you.**_

* * *

><p><em>Each of these scenes are ending up taking a chapter's worth of text to write. But with finals over, it should go more quickly. We're about halfway through now, chapter-wise, if my outlines are any indication. (Which they probably aren't.)<em>

_A hundred thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed. I'm so happy to see all the positive reactions to my humble little story. I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as it winds up to its grand finale._


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